Project Hana
by Sublimey
Summary: Danzō, Orochimaru, Madara. Somehow, Hana's got to figure her way out of the end of the world... and make sure no one she likes dies on the way there. (How much of herself is she willing to give up to keep them safe?) SI, Inuzuka style.
1. Chapter 1 - Coffee

**Intro:** _Sorting through all the mundane drama of everyday life takes a lot of work, and it's a lot more stressful with your life in danger. Danzo, Orochimaru, Madara. Somehow, Hana's got to figure her way out of the end of the world, and make sure her loved ones make it through with her. SI, Inuzuka style._

 **AN:** Self-insert/oc stories are a guilty pleasure, I thought I'd give it a try with an old favorite series of mine. Let's see how far this goes!

 **Disclaimers of disclaimers** : _I own nothing but the characters I make and the storyline of PH_

 **Edited Jul/27/2017** Beta'd by FreelanceBum !

 **Word count:** **3,240**

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 **~ X ~**

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 **Chapter 1: Coffee**

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 **~ X ~**

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As far as pregnancy went, Tsume Inuzuka had come to the decision that she'd had enough.

Swollen ankles, mood swings, and cravings aside **;** the miracle of birth was supposed to be just that: a miracle. A grand and fantastic experience anyone with a uterus was forced to look forward to. Parents were granted a perfect mini-me for any adult to project their broken dreams on, and kids were forced to accept whatever life they were born into for the next eighteen years.

At some level, Tsume knew what she was getting herself into. She hadn't ever seen herself as the mothering type, but when she eventually she was pregnant…. Well, a little more company sounded nice. Her parents had passed away a couple years ago, her siblings too, she had thought that maybe… maybe she wouldn't have to be alone after all. _Maybe having a kid wouldn't be so bad...?_

Surely someone could've warned her ahead of time that she'd be running to the bathroom every ten minutes, or bursting into tears whenever someone mentioned puppies. Her life had basically  
turned into a prison lockdown series, and she had lost all the humor in ordering people around to do her bidding around the second trimester. Now, nothing fit, she hadn't seen her toes in what felt like decades, and the man she was supposed to be intimate with was being baby-blocked by a mass in her stomach that seemed to find vicious pleasure in kicking her bladder. It was safe to say, she hadn't gotten anything more than a kiss on the cheek, and the only male touch she had gotten in the past four weeks had been from her ninken Kuromaru and that... that wasn't even close to what she was talking about.

She wasn't afraid of giving birth, in fact, she looked forward to the event with bated breath. Things were going to tear, and labor would probably take hours, but really, pushing a watermelon out into the world was the least of her concern. Tsume was absolutely confident in her ability to give birth to a little brat; and some part of her really did want to make her parents proud and clan happy and all that. She _wanted_ a child, very much so…

But _God,_ people were constantly trying to coddle her. Everyone within a five mile radius was on their toes in case she fell, pulled a nerve, or, God forbid, broke a nail. She had been a Chunin before she had conceived, capable of tearing enemies limb from limb, but now she was a delicate paper flower in need of constant reassurance in case she crumble under the pressure of motherhood. She felt pathetic. She felt like she had lost all privacy to her body, and that anyone and their grandmother could get up in her business and ask what was going on with her internal organs.

"Oh—are you forty-one weeks along or forty-two?"

 _...Did it really freaking matter?_

"Were you queasy at first or was that just me?"

 _That… was her personal business? She didn't want to talk to strangers about her vulnerabilities. She was supposed to be a soldier, not some sickly civilian who couldn't handle herself._

"Can I touch your stomach—"

"Have you heard of cankles—"

"You're just being _hormonal_ —"

"I read an article this one time and my cousin's half-sister once said—"

Tsume was so done.

She was so _goddamn tired_ of being pregnant.

Tsume was a Shinobi, born and bred, just like her ninken, just like her clan. She was fiercely proud of her heritage, and the fact that their techniques had made her a strong enough to rival their current clan head. She was on her way to being recognized as the _leader of said clan_ and being treated like a plush doll instead of the force of nature she _rightfully was_ set a fire in her chest that couldn't be put out by a couple sweet words and a baby shower.

For nine months, _nine_ , she put up with, it. Sure, Tsume threatened the odd person with Kuromaru a couple times, but otherwise, she put up with all the coddling and babytalk. In fact, she was a _goddamn delight_ — **t** he perfect image of motherhood. People were enlightened by her presence and wept when she walked through the door. She pulled off the 'glowing mother' role with _ease_.

So...why was it so hard for the brat inside her to just get _born_? Nine months of bullshit was supposed to be over once her due date arrived. And... Went _by…_ until it was a good _two weeks later_ , and she felt zero contractions or pain. People told her that ' _mothers just know_ ' when they were about to get birth, and regardless of whether or not Tsume fit that role, she was already a goddamn mother, and she had absolutely _no idea_ when it was going to be time.

Maybe Tsume should've opted to get for a midwife to make things easier on herself, maybe she should've eaten spicier food to induce labor (since that was apparently a _thing_ ), maybe she shouldn't have ignored that chainmail she got during her academy days. Anything could've been the reason she missed her due date, but Tsume was just….. So tired.

Being pregnant was hard, and Tsume had decided that she was done. Today was the day her child would get born— _there would be no more waiting._

Her ninken picked up on her feelings rather quickly. " _Mah_ , Tsume, you've got that look in your eye again... What are going to do?"

"As God as my _witness_ —" she ground out, propping herself up off her seat. "—grab me my slippers, Kuromaru, we're going to the hospital."

"Really?" he said, looking between his warm spot by the fire and the door. "Are you sure you should push this one? I mean, there's more at stake here than your figure."

"Kuromaru, as long as you've known me when have I given a damn about my figure?" Tsume shot the dog a glare, pulling on a heavy coat.

Kuromaru gave her an empty stare, not even bothering to give her an answer.

"Don't give me that. I've been suffering for nine months. Nine, Kuromaru! Would you like to lug a child for that long? No? I didn't think so." She crossed her arms over her chest, frowning off to the side. When the silence stretched on between them, and Kuromaru's piercing gaze stayed fixed on her, her resolve crumbled. "...I miss having coffee. I'm not allowed any and I miss having it in the morning."

Her ninken snorted, dragging himself over to grab her some fuzz outdoor slippers. "Should I wake up your mate while I'm at it?"

Tsume wrinkled her nose. "Leave him—let's just get this over with."

"You're _sure_?" Kuromaru asked, dropping her shoes by her feet. "I thought most humans liked having their partners present for the birth of their children."

"Yeah, well, consider me an outlier," she muttered, padding her way across the house. "He'll just try to change my mind anyway. I'm having this baby _now_ , and I'm not willing to let anyone slow me down."

"I thought as much." Kuromaru sighed, holding the door open for her. The cool spring air left goosebumps on his master's legs, and he briefly wondered if he should risk heckling her for a pair of pants, rather than those awful boy shorts she seemed to favor.

(" _They're the comfiest thing I have," Tusme explained to him several months back when her baby bump wasn't as extreme, and she was only just realizing with dawning horror that her waistline was going to make every pair of pants she had obsolete._

" _That doesn't change the fact that they leave your legs exposed. You can't go running around at night when the temperature drops. You need to take better care of yourself."_

" _Kuromaru, come on, when don't I?" Tsume scoffed. A second later, she shot him a look. "Actually, don't answer that."_ )

"We should at least tell someone where you're going," Kuromaru muttered as they made their way down the steps of the house, into the clan grounds where the streetlights were yet to turn on.

The sun had just started to dip behind the horizon, and while they had no doubts that there was any danger, the ninken worried someone would alert the village guards and they'd send out a search team. Tsume was a high profile member of Konoha—kidnapping _was_ a possibility, especially when Tsume wasn't able to fight back. So many things could go wrong. Tsume didn't seem bothered about it, despite his prodding.

When she started to ignore his questions, Kuromaru sighed and tried to reason with her, one last time. "Just tell _one_ person? Grab a coat rack, a cane—I'm not asking for a _miracle_ here Tsume. I don't have thumbs, I can't pick you up if you fall over."

"I don't need an escort," Tsume answered, shuffling her way down the street. She put one hand on her stomach and another on her hip to lessen the weight on her back. _God, pregnancy sucked.  
_  
Kuromaru shook his head and tried to keep up."Think about it—what if something goes wrong?"

She frowned. "I can handle it."

"I know you can, but—"

She shot Kuromaru a glare just as the two of them sensed somebody's chakra presence approaching.

"You jinxed it," she muttered, narrowing her eyes at the dog.

"Tsume-sama!" a voice cried out behind them.

"Oh god, ignore him." She picked up her pace again and tried her best to speed walk her way to freedom. "Put up a genjutsu, flash-step me to the hospital—fuck, I don't know, just help me get away."

"Isn't that supposed to be your cousin? Good, I won't have to get a stranger to carry you." Kuromaru wagged his tail, turning towards the source of approaching chakra. "Why are you running from him?"

"He's an annoyance." Tsume wrinkled her nose. "He lost his ninken five years ago and since then has been nothing but a wet blanket. _And he keeps trying to talk to me about baby stuff!_ He's one of the worst ones, I can't seem to shake him—"

"Tsume-sama!" A young, disheveled teenager landed in front of the two of them, stumbling when he tried to stand up straight. "What are you doing out here tonight? Are you okay? Is it the baby? Is something wrong?"

"Fine, Hasuki-san, thank you for asking," she muttered, pushing past her annoyingly attentive cousin. The twenty questions were nothing new, Hasuki Inuzuka had been a pain in her side for far too long. Tsume sighed. She was a high ranking member of their clan **;** just because Hasuki was _technically_ a relative of hers, didn't mean he could follow her around like a lost puppy.

She sent her ninken a glare to keep him quiet. _Hopefully, he wouldn't say something and she could just tell the kid to go away?  
_  
"We were just going to the hospital, good timing," Kuromaru said, making sure he strayed far enough from Tsume's reach. The traitorous mutt cocked his head to the side, shooting the young man a toothy grin. "Would you like to join us?"

"Like to join you….? Oh!" He slapped both hands over his mouth and quickly whipped his head towards Tsume. "Is it _time_? Your husband—where is he? Is everything alright? Do you want me to get him for you? I could, won't take long—"

"Just get me to the hospital," Tsume muttered, grabbing hold of his shirt before he could get away. "And try to keep it down, please? I want to get there with the least amount of screaming as possible."

"Oh, right. Of course, Tsume-sama," said Hasuki, hastily running to her side and offering his arm once she let go of his collar."Your husband though…."

"It's fine." She grunted, leaning on him for support. She ignored the sound of him struggling under her weight and kept walking. _Screw him,_ it wasn't easy to carry a kid, the least he could do was act like helping her wasn't that much trouble.

"I—I can't just be the only one there when you go in, I mean, while it's a great honor I don't think it would be right. I mean, we are family, but I didn't think we were so close— **I** mean I'm honored! Whatever you think is right Tsume-sama! I'm sure you know what you're doing, I mean, it's not like you just _got up and decided on a whim to go to the hospital_ , these things don't happen on a schedule, of course."

Hasuki took a breath and a moment to gather his thoughts, and Kuromaru used the silence as an opportunity to stare at Tsume will all the ire a giant wolf-dog could muster. _Of course_ she wasn't going to the hospital on a whim. _That would be crazy._

Opening his mouth again, Hasuki tried to continue. "It really is a great honor to accompany you, Tsume-sama, but—"

"I don't need someone to hold my damn hand, kid." She sighed, eyes fixed on the road ahead of them. "I just need quiet, you do that? I can, _Kuromaru can_."

"Isn't this fun?" The dog said ahead of them. "We're going to have a puppy."

" _Kuromaru should,_ " she spat as another wave of hysteria came off of the Inuzuka at her side.

He clutched his chest. "I can't believe this is happening—your firstborn! How can I replace your husband, oh my god am I going to be an uncle? A second uncle? A great cousin once removed? This is too much responsibility, oh _no_."

Some people really weren't meant to handle childbirth, Tsume's thought as they finally, _finally_ made it to the hospital. The white glowing building was like a beacon for her, pulling her in. Each step she took, she did so with the hopes that she might finally _escape the grip_ of her clansman and wear normal clothes soon. She could almost imagine what her legs look like when she could match her footwear with her legwear; no more crocs! And her toes! Man, she missed seeing her toes. If pregnancy had given her one thing, it was a better appreciation for her feet. They had suffered for _so long_.

As they walked inside the hospital, a couple nurses rushed forward and asked if she was alright.

It could've been the giant wolf behind her, or the way Tsume's eyes seemed to flash a dangerous color when being asked about her health or where he husband might have been, or the white-knuckled grip she had on Hasukī. It might've been a collection of all three actually, but in the end, Tsume got her room and was signed in relatively quickly, which was all she really wanted in the first place. No stalling or complaining, just simple obedience.

 _Ugh, why couldn't the people close to her be that way?  
_  
The room she was given was nice—clean sheets, no neighbors. A window overlooking a collection of ugly trees next door. Tsume had rejected a wheelchair and had been more than happy just to have the room in the first place than to also get one of those new fancy machines in her room. A heartrate monitor? Technology in the Hidden Leaf was pretty rare. Tsume sure as hell didn't expect to be hooked up to a computer before giving birth.

 _Hey, wait, if she held her breath, the little beeps the machine made slowed down. Technology was amazing. What would happen if she stopped breathing altogether?  
_  
Her doctor eventually walked through the door. "Ah, Inuzuka Tsume, correct?" She hummed, looking up from a chart and extending a hand. "My name is Doctor Maik–" she jerked back, locking eyes with Kuromaru. "Is that a _wolf_ in your hospital room?"

"Yes," Tsume, Hasuki, and Kuromaru said at once. Kuromaru narrowed his eyes at the doctor. "Is that a problem?"

It was pretty obvious she was a civilian—or had just never heard of ninken and lived under a rock. It was Konoha, people _had_ to know about the _Inuzuka clan_. What was this lady's problem? _Screw it,_ Tsume wasn't getting a new doctor or new company.

The doctor, looking worse for wear, gave Tsume a weak smile. "I'm sorry, but pets aren't allowed in the hospital."

Kuromaru lowered his head, jerking his head towards Hasuki. "You let him in, despite driving the nurses away with his annoying questions."

Hasuki made an offended squawk. "I did not! That one nurse said he needed to get some things in a closet. That's not being driven away, right? _Tsume-sama_ , am I annoying?"

Tsume chose to ignore him.

"Family is allowed to wait outside, pets are advised...t **-** to stay at home," the doctor said to Tsume. She swallowed, nervously glancing at Kuromaru out of the corner of her eye.

He growled at her. "I am not a pet."

Tsume waved a hand at the doctor. "Can we just forget about the wolf in the corner of the room and move on? I mean, you're not here for Kuromaru, right?"

"I agree, but—" The doctor glanced at the Kuromaru again. "—there are... certain... health hazards of having an animal inside the hospital..."

Kuromaru was on his feet, hackles raised. "How dare you insult me like this—I am a soldier!"

"Oh for god's sakes—just let him stay in the waiting room," Tsume groaned, deciding to blast the room with killing intent just to keep everyone quiet. The poor doctor reeled back in shock, but at least it made Kuromaru sit back down. As an added bonus, Hasukī shut his mouth too, and for a few brief seconds, nobody was asking how Tsume was or fretting over her.

Everyone was _finally_ silent and taking her seriously, and it was then and _only_ then that Tsume felt her water break.

"Tsume-sama, are you okay?"

Then the room erupted into conversation again, and everyone was telling each other what to do. Kuromaru had his teeth bared, the doctor was holding her clipboard out, insulting him (like a single piece of wood between them could keep her safe) and Hasuki was by Tsume's side holding her hand and shedding tears like she was already six hours into labor and about to die like some tragic stereotype.

Forget killing intent, there was absolutely no way for Tsume to make them shut up. She sighed and let her head fall back to her pillow. Maybe her child wouldn't be as high maintenance? Tsume could only hope so.

Twelve hours, two sedatives, a distraught and slightly offended _fiance_ later, Tsume gave birth to her first child, a daughter.

April 13th, 5:36 am, Hana Inuzuka was born.


	2. Chapter 2 - Happenstance

**AN:** Hasuki is an oc I had to make up to fill a couple holes in Hana's life. Absent dad/workaholic mom = need for a babysitter. I do enjoy writing him, and I hope he's liked along the way. There's only like three Inuzuka characters in the entire series, and it's a damn shame Kishimoto missed out on a grand opportunity to explore more of the clans of Konoha.

 **Word count:** **4, 316** **Beta'd by FreelanceBum !**

 **Edit Jul/27/2017**

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 **~ X ~**

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 **Chapter 2: Happenstance**

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 **~ X ~**

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A wise man once said that babies and children were strikingly similar to drunks. It made sense, in the beginning of their lives, it was almost like they were totally wasted.

Blackout drunks threw up, were messy, and cried themselves to sleep very much how babies did with just as little memory or lack thereof. It was one of the reasons why Hana had trouble figuring out what happened to her—why she couldn't stay up very long and keep a single thought going in her head. The world was a wash of bright blurry colours and sensations, and she had no idea what the hell it all meant. Hana didn't know if she was sick, or dying, or anything at all, and after a solid six weeks of confusion, one single thought remained the same.

Something had happened to her.

She didn't know what, or how, but something happened that made her a slobbering mess and she didn't think it was going to end. Sleeping hardly made a difference—other than an easy escape into thoughtless dreams, but apparently her problems couldn't be solved overtime. No fever ever went on for so long, and she doubted any sort of dream could feel _so real._

Which left two options. She was either so drugged out of her mind that she couldn't think properly anymore, or she had something seriously wrong with her brain. It wasn't that hard, the human brain was a squishy, soft muscle. Literally anything could have happened to put her in such a state, but after so much time had seemingly past, she was grasping at straws.

She had never done drugs before, or drank at parties, and despite hanging around with people who sometimes did that sort of thing, she always held back and stayed in line. Could someone have slipped her something without her knowing? Really, she trusted her friends to have her back, they weren't stupid, and they wouldn't have gone out of their way to betray her trust. So what could've happened?

She wasn't dead, obviously. She would've remembered something like that.

As the weeks went by and her mind cleared up a bit, she started to realize something really, _really_ must've happened, because she wasn't in a hospital or her house, or even her own bed for that matter. The people she knew were gone, and replaced with complete strangers. They smelled different, and her mother most definitely was _not_ a brunette, and her dad wasn't some pale skinned man with a goatee and long, wavy hair, of all things. Her _real_ dad had been bald, and her real mom had been blonde. Who were these strangers supposed to be? Nurses? She didn't even know if she was in a hospital—all she saw for weeks were soft white sheets and blankets. Her eyes couldn't pick up anything other than the faces of her caretakers, hovering around her like annoying, attentive flies.

And to add to her confusion, Her arms hadn't ever been so weak and soft, with pudgy little fingers and very little grip- they were supposed to be the hands of an artist. They were supposed to be calloused, steady when she needed them to be, and were supposed to be covered in paint, or ink, or _something_ —just not... so small, fragile.

Her name wasn't _Hana_ either. It _wasn't_ , despite what the people around her said. She wasn't Hana, she wasn't tiny, and they _weren't_ her parents. She was an eighteen year old art student, the daughter of a carpenter and a graphic designer. Whatever these new strangers were, they were nothing compared to her real family, who would surely turn up eventually to come find her. She was just sick, or injured or something, and while these new strangers were really nice for taking care of her, she wanted to go _home_.

After what felt like weeks, and then months….

She didn't know if they'd ever come get her.

Her eyes got better, and she was able to flip herself over sometimes and hold up her head again, but… She couldn't walk. Her legs were too weak, and they didn't magically get better after resting. She didn't get better, and Hana had to accept the fact that her state…. Whatever it was, was something she'd have to fix after months of waiting.

Something terrible had happened, and while she let herself cry about it, she was still somehow alive. She could think, she could breathe. After a while, she was able to repeat words her caretakers occasionally said to her. Claw, nose, dog, husky—her throat was sore after trying to talk so much, her the words on her tongue strange and foreign.

After a little more fog cleared and Hana was a little bit more lucid one day, she came to realization that she didn't have any teeth in her mouth.

That… well, she didn't know where they went, and she had _maybe_ screamed and kicked the cup out of her caretakers hand, but she…. Adjusted. Eventually. People her age could get dentures, right? Teeth could be replaced.

At least… she was alive.

She could still figure things out. She was living an _absolute nightmare_ , but she was getting more and more lucid with each approaching day. She had finally figured out how to ask what someones name was.

She pointed a tiny finger at the woman sitting in front of her. "You!"

The woman- she was maybe in her early twenties? (not that old) cocked her head to the side and said a couple unrecognizable words, before catching onto Hana's command. She pointed to her face. "Me? Mommy."

Hana recognized that word—it was, what, Japanese? Where the hell was she? She shook her head. "No— _you_ , you."

The woman pursed her lips. "I'm your mommy. Call me mom."

 _Nah_ , Hana wasn't having any of this. "Not mommy." She screwed up her face, trying to remember what she was supposed to say again. God, was she actually learning Japanese now? Fuck. "What… you?"

"Mommy," the woman said again, to Hana's growing irritation. It must've shown on her face though because the woman sighed. "You can call me Tsume too I guess."

Hana had only caught half of that, but… claw? That was what the woman said, right? Okay, well, claw-mom it was. Though, Hana really didn't know why she wanted to be called a mother. They could've been sisters in another life, she was so young... it was kinda weird.

But…. knowing someone's name was kinda nice. Grounding. Sure, Tsume kept calling her Hana and didn't really understand when she tried sounding out her real name, but… Knowing that the people around her had names humanised them. They weren't strangers, but people who cared for her and made sure she was alright. They fed her and bathed her, changed her clothes and made sure she didn't accidentally hurt herself. Having two human beings around her had made adapting to her situation a little more bearable, and… Hana was really thankful for it.

Months went by. Hana slept through a lot of it, daydreamed through the rest—after a while, passing the time had gone beyond boring, and she let herself work on autopilot. Nothing really changed in her life, but she waited.

Eventually, she'd get better. And on that day, she'd finally be able to find out what happened to her. Her questions would be answered. She could see her loved ones again. Go back to school Talk to her friends again. Were they thinking about her? She thought about them all every single day. God, she missed them all so much.

 _She just had to wait until something happened._

And after what felt like an entire year went by, it finally did.

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Tsume was aware of the fact that her daughter's brain acted differently than most kids. Hell, she knew pretty early on that Hana wasn't normal, because the day after she had been born, little Hana had stated unblinkingly into Tsume's eyes in absolute confusion, and since then had continued to do so every time Tsume held her. Which... was all the time. Newborn babies weren't supposed to be left alone, like, ever.

While doctors and parents alike marvelled at how intelligent baby-Hana seemed to be, there were no reassuring words that could calm Tsume's growing anxiety. She knew children often showed developmental issues when they were young, but she wasn't just a terrified new parent and making a fuss over nothing. She was actually being quite reasonable about everything. She wanted Hana to live a long, healthy life—and if she had something wrong with her brain, Tsume wanted to _know_. She knew she would still love her daughter just as fiercely as she did now, nothing would change that...

But she worried. Good god, she worried like hell.

Months went by and Tsume had started biting her nails. Pulling her hair out. Getting _very_ little sleep. Her partner didn't seem to like it, and told her to chill out, but he wasn't with Hana all the time. He didn't _understand_.

Hana _seemed_ healthy enough. Tsume had taken her to every child doctor she knew—all of them wrote down her concerns and told her that should anything happen, it would take some time. Otherwise, she just had to _wait._

A year passed by. Hana basically _forced herself_ to walk, pulling herself up no matter how many times her legs gave up underneath her. She picked up words and repeated them over and over again until Tsume told her she was right. She struggled with sentences, got confused and utterly frustrated with written words, to the point where she tossed books across the room and sulked, like a child, instead of the _infant_ she was. She learned so fast, Tsume felt like, as her mother, she was missing out on Hana's childhood.

Babies were supposed to be in diapers for years, right? Who taught her kid to be potty trained without her looking? Who was the punk who told her not to call her mommy? Someone was going to get their ass kicked. All she ever wanted was for her daughter to be her best friend and give her the title she rightfully deserved—now, she had an emotionally distant toddler who insisted on calling her by name like some sort of stranger, as if Tsume hadn't dropped _everything_ to take care of her.

It was an arrow to the heart, and not in a good way. For all of Hana's achievements, Tsume just grew more and more anxious. Other parents told her they were jealous—her partner was way too happy to get a drama-free baby. Who in the world wouldn't? She was being too paranoid, _right?  
_  
Tsume didn't know. There weren't other kids with such rapid growth—she didn't have a point of reference to look up. In some areas, Hana was just as basic as other kids. She struggled with everything at first just like any other baby, but at some point, she just _got_ things. She adapted super quickly. She kept working on how to talk like it was the most important thing in the world. She was a goddamn artist at eight months old—Tsume literally just had to show her how to hold a pencil, and the next week her room was filled with sketches.

None of it stopped after her first birthday either. Hana kept improving, she kept practicing her skills—she started looking at her parents with a bit more respect, almost caring now. Sometimes she smiled. Sometimes she broke down in bubbly giggles, and then shut her mouth and looked down, as if she were stunned by her own behavior.

If she saw Tsume watching her, she'd either frown (which was cute, but very _adult_ of her) or start giggling again, though it seemed forced and awkward.

Again, her husband told Tsume that she was reading into things too much, but a mother _knows when her kid acts strange_. Hana was just… Strange from the beginning.

It wasn't as if Tsume didn't love her for it. She would die for Hana, no questions asked. They were family, she would walk through hell and back if it meant Hana lived a happy, healthy life. It was what she worried about—what if Hana had developmental issues? What if her strange behavior continued on in her life, and she couldn't make friends? Or forge new relationships? It was _terrifying_. If Tsume had learned anything being a parent, it was that you lived in constant fear for your child. Anything could potentially mean instant death, and Hana's strange behaviour sent off so many alarms in Tsume's head that she couldn't see straight.

 _Danger! Danger!_ Hana not accepting a bottle meant she was going to die! _Danger Danger!_ Hana spending so much time sleeping meant she was sick and then also die! Danger! Hana doing this thing meant she was going to _spontaneously combust_ and then _**D I E**_!

You get the point.

After a while, Tsume started getting the impression that people were getting annoyed with her worrying. Her partner, especially. Kuromaru was sympathetic, and _some_ of the other parents she talked to, but the doctors, the nurses, the child psychologists—they just told her to wait it out and if anything happened, to call them.

So she waited.

Hana started asking for paints. She got better at walking, she didn't need people to hold onto her anymore. She went from wobbling as she walked, to running around her bedroom with reckless abandon. She started using bigger sentences, and eventually, started finding some joy in being a child, _finally._

It was some sort of breaking point. Instead of frowning, moping, or looking at Tsume like some stranger, Hana _winked._

But not just any sort of wink—it wasn't a false alarm, or a baby winking because something got stuck in her eye. Hana winked at Tsume very purposely. And for some reason this was important, because after that moment, Hana was almost a kid again.

She giggled all the time—laughed, she played around with the dozens of toys in her room, which she had ignored previously. She drooled all over herself and made a mess. She didn't go so far as to need diapers again, but she drew all over the walls one week, and let herself cry over a stubbed toe the next. She tore books apart with her grubby little hands and threw her food on the ground.

Tsume's partner had to take back his earlier statement about her being an easy child when Hana decided to toss something through a window—she had stopped being an easy, terrifyingly _abnormal_ baby, and started to resemble just… a terrifyingly destructive, _intelligent_ one. Who was also really, really, _really_ good at drawing and had above level comprehension skills—she just didn't seem to care about making a mess or being loud anymore.

Something had given way, at the very least. Tsume didn't know if she should be happy, because now she could actually predict her daughter's behavior, or wary. It was better than nothing at least. Tsume was still worried something was wrong, but... if something really was going on in Hana's brain, is was a mystery to everyone for them to solve as her daughter grew up. There wasn't really anything Tsume could do about it—sure, _some_ problems could be solved through chakra, and yes, people existed in Konoha who could enter other people's minds, but Tsume would sooner eat the shirt off her back than let a Yamanaka bash their way into her daughter's brain. It was traumatizing, and in no way safe for children; however _'advanced'_ Hana seemed to somehow be. She was a human being, and her mind was her own, no matter how much Tsume worried.

With no other options in sight, Tsume was back to waiting. Hana's first birthday had rolled on by, and Tsume had taken almost a year and a half off to care of herself and her family.

She had lost a lot of time and reputation being a mother. She had to get back into shape, think about her career again—and _definitely_ figure out if she still had what it took to lead the Inuzuka clan. She was still young, maybe a little flabby, but she was a lot more tolerant towards children; leading a group of adults couldn't be that differed, right?

 **.**

 **~ X ~**

 **.**

Hana wasn't as dependant on her parents anymore. Tsume could start _working again_.

She sighed, the weight of her flack jacket a welcome and familiar feeling back on her shoulders. Tsume took a moment to enjoy it—the knowledge that she could be back in action with the approval of the Hokage. She'd have to train like hell and prove to everyone that she was really capable of fighting again, but she was _dying_ to get back out in the field. Getting pregnant hadn't exactly been on her to-do list, but now Tsume could get her life back in order. She could actually start doing things she liked again! _She was almost a free woman._

(Not that her daughter tied her down, of course. But... being around kids was mentally and physically excusing. Getting a chance to work again was a shining bright opportunity Tsume wasn't about to pass that up.)

"Are you sure it's time to go back?" Kuromaru asked, tilting his head to the side. Tsume was currently in her bathroom, posing in front of the mirror. "What if a year is too early?"

"I'll be fine," she hissed, trying to go back to her happy place. _Back in action,_ she thought. _Finally back in action._

"Who will look after the pup?" he said, circling around her.

"I'll figure it out—"

"Because your partner won't be around to help, he hasn't had to change diapers like you, Every. Day. All the time." Kuromaru sniffed. "The man is incompetent and lacks a paternal drive."

Her brow twitched, but she tried to ignore him.

"I'm fairly certain the pup won't do well in the kennels," the ninken continued. "Unless you want her imprinting on one of the females and being adopted."

"That wouldn't happen," she huffed, brushing past him and making a beeline towards the nursery. Little Hana lay watching her mobile with curious—or rather, suspicious eyes. It wasn't anything new,Hana looked at everything like that that. Still, it was a relief to Tsume when she saw Hana recognise her and smile. It meant she trusted her mother more than her new mobile.

 _Sweet, sweet progress_. There had been a time when the two had been equals.

"You'll need a sitter," Kuromaru insisted, waiting outside the door.

"I'll find one," Tsume sighed, pulling her daughter up and resting her on her hip. The baby whimpered, resting her head on Tsume's shoulder. (She hadn't ever been an early riser—had Hana stayed up again drawing? Was Tsume was worrying too much again? _Dammit_.)

Kuromaru watched them, giving them space as his partner walked by. He hadn't officially been introduced yet for a couple reasons—didn't want to scare the poor thing more than she already was of the world.

"Hasuki offered to watch over her," Kuromaru said instead, trailing after them.

"Of course he did," Tsume scoffed, settling down in the living room to feed her kid. Applesauce today, as opposed to mashed carrots.

"You need a sitter," Kuromaru reminded. "And he's more than happy to help."

"Isn't there anyone... else?" she asked, cringing at the idea of the boy taking care of her daughter.

"Would you believe me if I said you're unapproachable and intimidating?"

"Perhaps," she said, feeding Hana a second spoonful. "I don't see how that matters."

"The point is, the boy is willing and you've scared away enough babysitters. He's technically her cousin too. You _are_ family, and he keeps annoying me whenever I go outside," Kuromaru huffed, narrowing his eyes at her. "I mean, unless you want to drop everything and be a _stay at home mother?_ "

"I'll do it, I'll hire him," she said quickly.

"Good," the ninken said, giving her a wolfish smile. "Because I already said he could come over."

Tsume shot him a betrayed look. "You what?"

"Tsume-sama!" Hasuki's called, lightly knocking on her door.

"This has got to be a joke," she groaned, setting aside Hana's applesauce and making her way to the door, baby propped up on her hip.

She took a moment to plaster a pleasant, incredibly fake smile on her face, before opening the door.

" _Hasuki-san_ ," she said between bared teeth. "What a pleasant surprise."

The young, _insufferable_ Inuzuka blinked at her. "Did Kuromaru-san not mention I was coming?"

"Oh _no_ , he did," she said, her smile still plastered on her face. "...And here you are."

"Oh," Hasuki said. They stood in an awkward silence as Tsume stood in front of the door. "Are you... okay?"

Her cheek twitched. "Just fine."

"Aren't you gonna let him in Tsume?" Kuromaru barked from inside the house.

"Eventually," she said, smiling at him. He smiled back, unsure what to say.

Hana took this as the opportunity to reach a gummy hand up and poke Tsume's cheek, breaking the tension and the painful looking mask her mother wore. The little traitor. "Tsu-Tsu, stop."

"Ah—!" Hasuki exclaimed, his attention immediately flying to the baby. "Hi, Hana-chan! How are you today?"

The baby slowly blinked her eyes at him. "Fine."

"That's good! Do you remember me?" when Hana didn't say anything, he kept talking. "I was here on your birthday. You had a cake, and I gave you a stuffed puppy dog. Do you remember that?"

Hana nodded, reaching over Tsume's shoulder to point to the living room inside. "Left puppy in my room so he wouldn't get dirty."

Hasuki out a hand on her chest. "That's… so _cute_ …" He looked back at Tsume. "She's so beautiful, Tsume-sama. If you don't want me to stay, that's fine, I understand. I know I'm not the most well liked in the clan, and that I can come off kinda strong." He took a couple steps back. "It was good to see the both of you though—"

"Wait." Tsume sighed, she gave the man a searching look, before stepping back to let the teenager inside. "You… you can stay. I really should start leaving the house more. You'll… take good care of her while I'm gone, okay?"

"Of course! She won't come to harm under my care. I'll watch over her like she was my own kid, if I had any," he said earnestly. "You have my word—"

Tsume frowned. "Not good enough."

"You have… my life?" He held up both his hands. "If anything happens to Hana-chan, it's on my life. I swear."

"Good. Your fate rests in Hana's hands now." She nodded, holding the door open for him.

After half an hour of of drilling the boy about possible hazards of the home, contact information, food requirements, sleeping schedules, and making sure he knew exactly what he was doing at all times in every situation, Tsume eventually found her way standing outside the door again. Only, with Hana in Hasuki's arms, and Kuromaru watching them all from inside the house.

"You'll make sure she's fed at the proper time—"

"Of course, Tsume-sama," Hasukī assured.

She chewed her lip. "And burp her and make sure she's changed—"

"I'll check every hour," he said, holding Hana on his hip like he had been shown.

"Go on," Kuromaru barked, "I'll be here too, no need to have such little faith."

"I guess," she said, reluctantly taking a step away. She ran her thumb over the familiar metal of her Hitai-ate as she pulled it out of her pocket, feeling the chips and scratches it had collected over the years. "Hana will be fine." She said, reassuring herself.

"She'll be in good hands," Hasuki said softly, giving her a confident smile.

Kuromaru shrugged. "If the boy fails, I can always eat him."

Hasuki gave an indignant squawk, the same time Tsume grinned and tied on her forehead protector.

"I'll hold you to that Kuromaru," she chuckled, giving her daughter one last kiss on the forehead. "Stay safe, kiddo." She said, before taking a few steps back, waving, and then using body-flicker technique to disappear in the blink of an eye.

Hasuki, now alone with a baby and a talking wolf, cringed. "You wouldn't really eat me, right?"

The ninken barked out a laugh. "We'll see how useful you are first."

 **.**

 **~ X ~**

 **.**

There were few things that were absolutely certain in baby Hana's life, despite not actually being called Hana and not being a baby whatsoever.

Whatever happened to her, was permanent.

Physically, she was a baby.

Everyone around her spoke another language.

And magic apparently existed.

Somehow, that last one was the hardest to swallow. Months of toiling around in diapers, eating mashed food, and suddenly she was in a world with magic. There was absolutely no way to explain the way Tsume disappeared, no matter how hard Hana tried to wrap her head around it. She couldn't figure _anything out_. Why was she like this now? Why was she so young again? Why was she given a new family? Why did any of this happen?  
 _  
Why her?_

None of it made sense— _especially_ that metal band around her new mother's neck.

She knew what it meant.

What the hell did Naruto have to do with anything?


	3. Chapter 3 - Getting a Grip

**AN:** I really, truly don't like it when fics dwell on baby days in SI fics, but hopefully you'll forgive me, since that's only a small part of what's going on and i'm trying to show everything that's going on outside of just Hana's point of view. Family relationships, and all that. They exist, and sometimes they don't start off amazingly.

 **Edit Jul/12/2016**

 **Edit Jul/27/2017 Beta'd by FreelanceBum !**

 **Word count:** 3,627

 **.**

 **~ X ~**

 **.**

 **** **Chapter 3 Getting a grip.**

 **.**

 **~ X ~**

 **.**

Fucking ninjas.

They were shinobi— _god_ , how many weeks did it take for her to figure that out? Granted, Hana had been pretty blitzed out of her mind for a while, being a baby and all, but dammit, that wasn't the point!

Ninjas. Head protectors. Hidden leaf.

Jesus, even giant pet wolves—Ninken? Who _cared_ —it was real and she was a fucking baby. Somehow. Against _every single odd known to man._

No matter how many times she tried to wrap her head around it, Hana couldn't figure it out. It didn't make sense. She hadn't done anything to deserve this wild and unusual punishment. She just _woke up one day_ and everything was different. Now _Ninja and_ _magic_ were real.

 _God_ , she just wanted to go home.

But… it didn't matter how much she slept or cried, the world remained the same. She was stuck drinking out of a sippy cup and sucking down various blended meals that tasted like cardboard. On the bright side, sometimes her (new) parents gave her little scraps of meat here and there, so her diet it wasn't all bad, it was steadily _improving,_ so life wasn't completely awful—wait a minute, _yes it was.  
_  
What was she, some sort of _dog?!  
_  
Bullshit, that was what it was. Complete and utter bullshit that she had no way of escaping. One could only wallow in self pity and depression for so long before something snapped and lead to anger. After a whole bloody year of bullshit and baby talk, learning an entire new language, she was done. Just absolutely done with everything.

Her babysitter had a hard time looking after her, evidently.

"Hana-chan, what are you—"

 _CRASH!_

Down went the TV. Hana looked up at Hasuki with a dull, empty expression. _What are you gonna do about it, punk?_

He turned white. "Tsume-sama is going to _skin me alive_."

Hana shrugged and toddled over to the couch on her stupid, useless baby legs. _God,_ she couldn't even reach the top of sofa on her own. She felt so pathetic.

Picking up her colouring book, she looked down at the lettering on the cover.

She couldn't even read it right. There were instructions and paint by numbers, but she didn't know what any of it meant and _she wanted to rip it to pieces._

As days passed by, Hana lay awake at night, thinking about what might've happened to her old family. If her mom was okay, if her dad was able to console her...or if he was just as broken up about her disappearance as she assumed they'd be. She wondered if her little sister was okay, or if she cried herself to sleep at night wondering where her big sister had went, just as much as Hana did, wondering if she'd ever be able to go home. She wondered how her older brothers took her disappearance, and if her friends still thought about her. How long was it before she was forgotten? Did her family have a funeral for her? Did they give up hope?

Would her friends be okay with her disappearance? Would anyone be okay?

Was… _she_ going to be okay?

Thinking about her life and family was absolutely torture, but she couldn't stop. She wondered if it was all a dream or hallucination, but discarded the idea after trying to pinch herself awake a couple dozen times. She wondered if she was crazy for a long time, or if she would eventually end up that way—sure, she felt stable enough at the moment, but she had to hit a breaking point _somewhere._

Years stopped feeling the same. The fog in her mind had cleared up, she could think and remember things clearly, but time seemed to go at a different rhythm now. She couldn't ever seem to stay focused in the daytime, but at night, she lay awake with nothing but her thoughts to keep her company. The faces of her lost family members met her in her dreams, and at times all she could ever do was just stare off into space, holding onto her blankets until her knuckles went white, just to keep herself grounded.

She had lost so, so much.

It wasn't fair.

 _Why did it have to be her?_

She spent too much time thinking—she missed her old life, her hobbies, god, she missed her dogs, but after two whole years had passed by, she knew she wasn't ever going to see them again.

Saying that she fell into a depression after that was putting it mildly.

Breathing was difficult sometimes. For days on end, she slept in. Even drawing, something she always loved, couldn't help. Everything was just so frustrating and tiresome—she didn't care for the books Tsume bought her. She couldn't read them, no matter hard hard she tried. Everything was different and she _hated it._

She just wanted her family back. She missed her old life. Tsume was nice and all, but she wasn't… she couldn't ever replace her real mother. It wasn't the same, Hana didn't want to move on.

She didn't know if she could.

 **.**

 **~ X ~**

 **.**

"Hana! Make a happy face and pose with daddy!"

 _Click._

Tsume frowned and looked up from her camera, shooting both her daughter and partner a flat look. "It's not a cute family photo if the both of you refuse to smile."

Her Fiancé scowled and put baby Hana back into her highchair, strapping her in. "She isn't interested, don't force her if she doesn't want to have her picture taken."

"Is she really the victim here? Why do i get the feeling that it's _you_ who's getting forced into getting your picture taken?" Tsume raised an eyebrow at him. "Tatsuo, come on, it's not that hard to smile for a couple seconds. When Hana's all grown up, she's going to want some baby pictures where you _don't_ look like you have a massive headache."

"Then that'd be totally out of character," he shot back. In her little chair, Hana watched the two adults with tired eyes and brought her sippy cup to her lips. Her father watched her out of the corner of his eye, but when she set down her cup and slapped his hand away when he tried to spoonfeed her, he sighed and gestured to Tsume. "See? She doesn't want me getting involved."

Tsume scoffed. "That's because you aren't doing it right."

"She doesn't _like me_."

" _T_ _atsuo_." She stared at him, her brows scrunching up. She set her camera down on their kitchen table and lowered her voice. "You have to try a little harder than that—you work seven days a week, she's not going to warm up to you with _that_ attitude."

He crossed his arms over his chest and glared down at the linoleum floor. "I'm not wrong though, am I? You're obviously the favourite."

Tsume scoffed. "She calls me by my first name. Being the favourite isn't much to boast about."

"So why bother with the photographs?" Tatsuo jerked his head towards the camera. "And the scrapbooking, and the height charts? Why does it matter?"

At this, she was silent. The only sound present came from the new TV they had installed a couple days ago, and the quiet scrap of plastic cutlery as Hana fed herself and watched the flashy new screen.

Tatsuo got up from his chair and shook his head, picking up their empty plates from dinner. "Listen…. Just, I dunno, forget I said anything. Whatever mood Hana's in this time… She'll grow out of it, I'm sure she'll warm up me eventually."

She didn't believe him, watching his back as he went over to the kitchen and placed their dirty dishes in the sink. "You just can't give in so easily—don't throw in the towel just yet."

He sighed, turning on the tap. "I didn't expect you to be the _patient_ one in this relationship."

"We aren't teenagers anymore, I'm capable of a little maturity" Tsume huffed. Hana pushed her empty bowl forward when she finished eating and undid the clip on her highchair, slipping out of the seat before her mother could scoop her up. Tsume bent down to try and fetch her daughter, but the infant crawled under the table before she could reach her. "Hold on, come _back here_."

"Don't need _help_ ," Hana shot back, looking up at Tsume between the wooden legs of the kitchen chairs. Tsume caught her a moment later and Hana yelped, pounding her little fists against Tsume's chest. "Didn't need help!"

Tsume cringed and tucked Hana into the crook of her arm so that she couldn't do much damage. "I don't doubt that, kiddo, but don't you want mommy to sit and watch with you?"

Hana scowled and looked up at her. "You don' like my show."

"Well, uh—"

"Fine, ok, don' care," Hana said impatiently, peering over her shoulder to catch the rest of her program. "Just show me show."

"Tatsuo?" Tsume turned back and glanced at her Fiancé, still doing the dishes. She winced as Hana pulled her hair, trying to direct her over towards the living room. "Just think about what I said, alright? We'll talk about this later."

With a noncommittal grunt, Tatsuo turned off the running water and started scrubbing. "Sure, okay."

Before Tsume could respond, Hana whined and yanked her hair again. "Tsu-tsu, TV!"

She sighed and padded out of the kitchen.

 **.**

 **~ X ~**

 **.**

"I don't understand, Kuromaru, she's been like this for so long now," Tsume muttered outside Hana's door several nights later. "I don't know what's wrong—is it me? Should I… do something different?"

Her ninken gave her a tired look. "Don't put yourself down, it could be anything."

"Maybe I should've stayed off active duty longer," she said, biting her lip.

"You would've gone mad." The canine huffed, poking his nose inside the pup's room. He ignored the way his master scoffed, sticking his head further into the bedroom.

"I think she's dreaming," he said quietly, picking up the way the child tossed in her bed.

"A nightmare," Tsume corrected, opening the door and creeping inside. She kept her footsteps silent and her voice too quiet for the girl to hear. "She's going to be crabby when she wakes up, shit." She grimaced, her hand hovering over Hana's trembling form.

"Let me try, Tsume." Kuromaru offered by the door. The light behind him cast a dark shadow across the room and onto the wall.

It was pretty ominous, and Tsume gave him a skeptical look. "You don't think she'll ask why a wolf is in her room and freak out?"

"She's an Inuzuka, it's in her blood to love dogs." Kuromaru huffed, taking a step inside the girl's room. "Besides, I'm fluffy and adorable."

"No you aren't." Tsume snorted, making her way to the door. "But if you wanna take a shot at it, be my guest."

Hana tossed in her sleep, murmuring some odd phrase he didn't understand. Sleeptalking? That was a new one. Usually, the poor child just snored and cried.

"Human," the canine murmured, using his nose to wake the child up. He wondered if he should speak to the pup, whether or not she would find it jarring.

Outside the clan, humans found it shocking to meet a talking dog—most ninken didn't speak truthfully, and it took many years of practice and strong enough vocal chords to pull off. Often, it was a matter of pedigree in the end. Smaller ninken had a better understanding of language and could replicate it with their smaller and more delicate vocal chords, while larger ninken such as himself struggled. Not that he would ever admit it to anyone, but when he had been paired with Tsume they had both been young, he often found himself utterly confused by the complexity of human culture and language.

"What… a puppy?" Hana murmured in her limited vernacular, roused from her restless sleep.

The child rubbed at her face, blinking up at him with big wide eyes. She was scared and disoriented. He understood that. He also understood that she was learning language just as he once did. It was often frustrating—maybe he could help her out a bit.

"Ninken," he corrected, watching her react to him as he spoke to her. "Play a game with me, it'll take your mind off of the dream. Say what I say."

"Ninken," she copied, with somewhat of a lisp. She had an odd accent, but it was disappearing in time.

He sat down in front of her and rested a paw on the edge of her bed. "Foot."

"Foot…" She looked down at her toes. "What… do you call your foot?"

"A paw." Kuromaru let her reach down to touch his paw on her bed, and he was relieved to see her smile so soon after her nightmare. He looked around her bedroom for some things to name for their little game. "My turn again. Let's see…."

She nodded along with brief understanding. Distracting her from her nightmares was a gradual process, and Hana looked at him funny for naming just about everything that came to mind, but eventually she found some dry amusement in it. Perhaps it was because she was talking to a dog, who talked back and occasionally let himself be pet by her.

Still, she was learning language relatively fast, by ninken standards. Humans too, if what Tsume said was correct. She might've been frustrated because she didn't know how to express herself fully, or because she just wasn't learning every word in the language overnight, but that was common for someone learning a new skill. She had a keen sense of humour and understanding of her surroundings, which became more apparent as she got older, despite how she seemed to put on an act whenever she was around other children her so, other parents took notice, and that got them whispering.

They wondered if she was a _prodigy._ Of course, all parents hoped their child would be one. If a kid decided that they liked running, their parents would declare that their son or daughter was an athlete. It was harmless boasting, but within the ranks of shinobi parents, there was an extra layer of expectation. All the marks were there—she was exceptionally talented at certain things; art, terrorizing her babysitter. It didn't mean she would end up being a _shinobi_ prodigy or the next Buddha, but… she was smart, and Konoha would inevitably try to use that to their advantage. It was simply how things worked, regardless of Kuromaru's feelings on the matter. She could be a great leader someday. She could be a great _anything,_ really.

He knew humans, though. He knew their ways. They would try to make something useful out of her. He wondered if it was already too late to intervene, or that his teaching he would only hurt her in the end.

But… right now she was still a child and craved kindness, _contact._ She reached out a cautious hand, just brushing the side of his coat.

"You remind me of the dog from my…. dream," she explained, a pained expression crossing her face. "I don't think I can go back… can you... stay here? Until I sleep again?" She sniffled, wrapping her blanket around herself.

He hesitated, sensing Tsume by the door, but nodded and laid down next to her bed.

Kuromaru still struggled to understand sometimes what humans meant—it might've been just a dream or something truly plaguing the young child, whatever that meant. But... perhaps in the case of nightmares, he got one thing; humans felt better when they received affection from animals. He could ignore his pride for the sake of this pup, at least for tonight.

So, while even the most acclaimed shinobi were denied a pat or token of affection from him, Kuromaru allowed the young child to cling tightly to his fur until the night had passed and she had fallen asleep.

As long as his family was happy, he was content in letting them have their way.

(And he totally was fluffy and adorable, Tsume didn't know what she was talking about.)

 **.**

 **~ X ~**

 **.**

Between her tantrums and bouts of intense depression, there were moments when Hana sat quietly by herself and thought. Or rather, felt.

She didn't notice it at first—being blitzed out of her mind as a baby, with a too small brain to think clearly, but eventually she could feel the presence of her chakra coils inside her. It started off as a stomach ache after lunch with Tsume. It was easy to write off as another example of the woman's bland, tasteless cooking at work, but felt more like a nerve spasm or a menstrual cramp, however ridiculous that might been at two years old. When she pointed it out to her guardian though, the woman gave her a loud chuckle and a toothy grin.

"It's your _chakra forming_ ," she explained, pleasantly surprised she had to explain the concept so early. "Most pups your age don't feel it until they're much older—three or four at least."

"What's chakra?" Hana asked, even though she had a general idea of what it meant anyway.

"It's your life energy—everything around us has chakra, from the birds to the trees, even Kuromaru has it."

Hana licked her lips. "What's chakra made of?"

"It's—ugh, made of..." Tsume's grin faltered. Hana was already immediately asking the hard questions. "Chakra is created when physical energy, and spiritual energy are moulded together. Usually inside a shinobi, like me. People can use it to make water flow, or fires burn, cool stuff like that, though it takes a toll on your energy to do so."

"Where does it come from?" Hana pressed. "Can it be _grown_? Can it be destroyed? Is it alive too?"

Her tone was textbook, as if her mother's tone was copying an old lecture drilled into her brain. "Physical energy comes from each and every cell within the body—while spiritual energy is derived from the minds consciousness." Tumse said, pursing her lips. One question down… "Chakra cannot be _artificially grown_ , but it can be increased in size by an individual, by training or meditation…." She looked into the eyes of her two year old kid.

Yeah, this was all flying over her head.

"I think... It's time to do something else..." She muttered, ushering Hana over to her room. "Have you talked to your toy puppy in a while? I heard he's lonely."

"Puppy is a loner and an alcoholic." Hana looked up at Tsume with an unimpressed stare. "Tell me about chakra."

Tsume frowned. "Alcoholic is an _adult word._ Where did you hear that word?"

Hana crossed her arms over her chest, pouting. "TV told me. What's chakra do when you die?"

 _Good lord_ —Tsume dragged a hand over her face. "Who told you about death?"

Hana frowned deeper. "Books told me. How do some people pass on chakra to their kids if it's just a manifes… manifes… If it's outside chakra found on the inside?"

"Look, if I had all the answers I would tell you," Tsume said, leveling with her. "Even though I know for a fact you _can't read_ and couldn't possibly hear about death from a book I bought you—" Hana turned a bright scarlet. "—and you broke our first TV and aren't allowed to listen to adult shows, I understand. You want to know everything. I know how that feels, but sometimes you have to wait and learn day by day like the rest of us."

Hana seemed to mull the thought over. That, or she hadent understood everything Tsume had just said. Honestly, it was a 50/50 shot.

She seemed somewhat pacified though. "Will you tell me though? Later?"

"Later," Tsume assured her, sighing. She just couldn't win against this kid. "When you start going to school, the teachers there can answer everything, I promise."

Hana pursed her lips. "When will I be going?"

"When you're old enough." Tsume stressed.

Something seemed to bother her though, and Hana nervously looked at the ground.

"Will I be going to _ninja school_?" She asked quietly, fiddling with the hem of her shirt.

"Most kids with chakra go to the academy, yeah." She nodded, picking up on her daughter's change in attitude. "What are you thinking, kid? Do you not wanna go?"

"I... I don't know." She confessed. "Maybe?"

"That's okay, you can decide if you want. The choice is up to you. " Tsume said easily, tucking her into bed. "You don't have to be a ninja if you don't want to. There's a lot of different opportunities out there for a kid like you—you could be a florist, or a baker, or a _vet_. It wouldn't change anything."

Now, Hana seemed to watch her with a thoughtful expression. "I don't have to if I don't want to?"

Tsume raised an eyebrow at her. "Not at all. What made you think I'd force you into doing something you don't want to?"

"Oh, uh…" she pursed her lips. "TV said so?"

Tsume sighed. "Next time tv tells you something bad, just smash it again, okay?"

Hana nodded. "Whatever you say, Tsu-tsu."

"Or _Mommy_ , you could call me Mommy too, you know," she said, giving Hana a thumbs up.

Hana didn't go for it. "Kinda awkward." She mirrored Tsume's thumbs up. "Friends instead?"

It… was better or nothing, right? Tsume would take it. "Best friends."

"Give it time," Hana said grudgingly, shooting another bittersweet arrow into Tsume's heart.

 _God, she'd never win with this kid._

Tsume sighed, shaking her head. "It's fine, I can wait."


	4. Chapter 4 - Hope

**Edit Jul/27/2017 Beta'd by FreelanceBum !**

 **Word count:** 2,580

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 **Chapter 4 - Little Things**

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"Show me again."

Tsume sighed and went through the hand-signs again, watching her daughter react to the collection of chakra on her palm as it light up the dark room they sat in.

"Geez, if I knew you liked chakra so much I wouldn't have gotten you so many toys—you don't even touch them," she huffed, letting the light on her palm concentrate into a ball of energy. It wasn't anything flashy, like the Rasengan, but it spun in a slow, lazy circle anyway; a tiny star in the palm of her hand.

Hana's eyes were wide like saucers, holding her breath as if any subtle movement might make the chakra ball in Tsume's hand to blow up in her face. It wasn't that kind of technique though, obviously, Tsume wouldn't show her two-year-old daughter anything dangerous; it was a jutsu that was supposed to look like a lightbulb. _Harmless_ —but to Hana, it was the first real chakra technique she had ever really seen up close. It was magic in the palm of Tsume's hand, and however depressed or melancholic her daughter's attitude had been recently, seeing something so spectacular, so close, seemed to bring the girl out of her shell far more than ever before.

Like the spark in Tsume's hand, something bright flickered to life in Hana's eyes. It… was curious. Tsume would have to investigate further.

"My hand is cramping up." Tsume murmured, a devious little smile on her face. "I can't use all my chakra like this… what if my _fingers fall off_?"

Hana looked up at her, hands suddenly clamping down on Tsume's wrist. "That wouldn't happen," she stated, so sure in her belief. Though, a moment later, her composure crumbled and she started inspecting Tsume's hand.

"Oh sure," Tsume said darkly. "I could use too much energy keeping this light going, not notice, and poof!" She shut off the light, moving her hand inside her sleeve quicker than Hana's eyes could follow. "No more left hook, no more fingers."

"That..." Hana fretted, looking down at her empty hands. "That's not how it _works_ though."

"Oh? Says who?" Tsume tilted her head to the side.

"Uh..." She faltered. "TV?"

Tsume shook her head. "Nah, I don't buy it. The only shows we get are done by civilians—it takes too much time and effort to film ninjas unless it's for a movie or something." Tsume raised an eyebrow at her. "Have you been sneaking into my bedroom while I've been out?"

"Ugh…" Hana paled. "No..?"

"Funny, because I could've sworn I found your scent all around my bookshelf last week." Tsume sighed, fixing Hana with an unimpressed stare. "Come on, kid. You don't have to lie to me—we're _buddies,_ right? If you wanna learn about chakra, you just have to ask."

Hana looked up at her hopefully. "So...I'm not in trouble?"

Tsume shrugged. "You're two, it's not like you were trying to sneak out and meet boys without my knowing. I haven't even taught you how to read yet." Tsume frowned. "Though, I thought I told you to wait until the Academy…"

Hana started to sweat again.

What was she supposed to say? That she knew about the world from a tv show she watched in her childhood?

"Geez, kid, don't look so upset." Tsume muttered, looking at Hana's troubled face "I'm not really upset with you—If you're really that desperate to learn, I can teach you. I'd be more worried if I found out you were practicing jutsu on your own. As long as you're learning about it in a book, it's fine. "

Hana's eyes drifted down to Tsume's hand, resting softly on the bed they sat on. Her knuckles were ragged and scarred pink from being overworked, and Hana couldn't tell which scars were from too much training, or from enemy fire. It could've been either, and the amount of scars drove home how dangerous ninjutsu really was. How many times had she accidentally hurt herself? It was good Hana couldn't read any of the books she took from Tsume's room—her body was far too frail to take the kind of abuse Tsume had endured.

Tsume watched Hana inspect the circular scars on the back of her hand—she found cigarette scars from a couple years ago. Hana could tell what they were, but the cause... _Torture? Domestic abuse? Self-harm?_ She had no idea.

She pursed her lips, wondering if things would get too personal if she asked some questions. "You… get hurt a lot when you're working, don't you..."

"Well, yeah..." Tsume said slowly, letting her daughter curl her fingers together. "Everyone gets hurt sometimes. My job can be dangerous."

Hana's thumb brushed over a thin, pink scar across the top of her guardian's wrist. Her palms were calloused, with cuts and new skin stretching over healed wounds—they didn't seem to end either. She traced them farther up her arm, up to her elbow, until she stopped short.

It was... an uncomfortably intimate act. Like sharing secrets. It didn't seem appropriate for someone who didn't consider the woman family. Tsume was a _friend_ , right? Sure, she loved Hana, and saw her as her daughter…. and occasionally had to remind Hana that she would literally do anything for her. _Damn,_ that sort of devotion made Hana feel guilty.

"Sorry..." she said hurriedly, ducking her head and giving Tsume some space.

The Inuzuka raised an eyebrow. "Something wrong?"

Hana chewed her lip, eyes flicking from Tsume's arm, to her face, to the futon they were on. She rolled onto her back, ignoring the way her guardian furrowed her brows in confusion.

Should she really be acting so familiar with her after such little time? Admittedly, Hana had technically known Tsume for two years now. It just felt like… well, their relationship was still new. Hana had slept through a large portion of her new life, but… without Tsume's care, she'd be helpless and without a clue where she was. She felt shady being inside the body of her daughter. She didn't feel like a child, like the _real_ Hana, but... what was she supposed to act like? Surely she was doing something wrong. She didn't know how to act like Tsume's kid, and no matter how guilty Hana felt towards not recognizing Tsume as her mother, she couldn't just force herself to act differently for the rest of her life. Who was the real Hana? Was she some unknown Konoha ninja? She was Tsume Inuzuka's daughter, sister of Kiba—

Oh.

Sister of _Kiba_ , as in, yet it be _born_ , Kiba. Which... Definitely put her in an interesting situation.

The faintest laugh bubbled past her lips, before she clamped her teeth shut and covered her mouth.

Tsume at least had the decency to look amused, despite the thoughtful look behind her eyes. Like she was trying to figure Hana out, like a book, or a puzzle. Anyone who said Inuzuka weren't smart obviously never spent much time with were times when Hana was almost certain Tsume could look right through her facade.

Good _lord,_ Hana was going to have a little brother in a couple years. She couldn't have that sort of responsibility in her life, _shit, goddamnit._ She didn't know how to deal with this new information.

"What are you thinking about?" Her mother asked eventually, poking a calloused finger against Hana's cheek.

Hana flinched, feeling even more guilty when she saw Tsume quickly draw her hand back, edging away from her.

"Sorry Hana, I didn't mean to spook you—"

Hana shook her head. "It's okay, I was just thinking hard." Which… wasn't really a lie, even though it felt like one. Really, she just didn't want Tsume to feel like she was overstepping boundaries, which, again, she kind of _was_ since Hana didn't feel like Tsume was her mother, but…. dammit. It wasn't Hana's fault she remembered her past life—she shouldn't have to feel guilty for loving her other mother from her past life. She couldn't help it.

But… what was stopping her from loving Tsume as a sort of…. foster mom? She could try doing that, right?

Hana looked back down at the cigarette burns on Tsume's skin. She… really didn't deserve a troubled kid like Hana. If her hands showed anything, it was that she already had a lot on her plate to deal with. "Being a ninja means getting hurt a lot, huh."

"Sometimes, yeah," said Tsume, letting Hana grab onto her hand once more. She watched as Hana gingerly traced the pink scar tissue on her knuckle, before taking her other hand and pointing out some of her scars as well. "I got this one mishandling a kunai, see? Right across the thumb. Hurt like hell when I was in the academy."

Hana traced the shiny line. "That's a really old one, right? I thought scars faded after time."

"Some do." Tsume nodded. "Sometimes people get scars removed—medical ninjutsu has the power to make wounds heal up, no scars at all."

Hana frowned. "Then why do you still have yours?"

"Hmm…" Tsume scratched her chin. "That might be… because they tell a story." She laid her palms flat to the bed, splaying out her fingers for Hana to see. "Sure, my skin isn't pretty and smooth anymore, like yours, but after everything I've been through, I'm proud of my body for enduring it all. The nicks and scratches that show up even after I've fully healed show how strong my body is after all my training, and how much I've overcome since joining the military."

"Even though they remind you of when you were hurt?" Hana couldn't help looking back down to those cigarette burns.

Tsume ran her fingers over them thoughtfully. "I knew what I was getting into when I became a ninja—sometimes you get hurt and you can't help it. Sometimes… it's important to put yourself on the line even though you know you're going to get hurt. There's bravery in that, I think." Tsume shrugged her shoulders. "Though, I admit, it'd be nice to wear short sleeves once and awhile and not have people stare."

"Do they do that a lot?"

She shrugged again. "Sometimes. You take it as it is—I'm not ashamed of them, and I'm not afraid of being a shinobi because I know I can survive. My scars prove it."

Hana didn't say anything, staring down at her own hands. Was she afraid of being a being a ninja? Perhaps. She was definitely afraid of getting hurt. _She didn't want to die_. Honest and truthfully, she didn't. She wanted a cushy, calm life, free to pursue her dreams of becoming an _artist_ … in a world where nobody really valued it as much as they did the art of _murder._

It wasn't fair. How was Hana supposed to follow her dreams if all of those were so far out of reach? Her old life was an entire world away, and she was living in a world of monsters and warlords with absolutely no way to live peacefully on her own. Sure, she could run, but would she be okay leaving Tsume behind? She…

 _She didn't want to be alone anymore._

Tsume pursed her lips, perhaps picking up on Hana's internal struggle. "Hana, are you okay? I haven't lost you, have I?"

"No, I'm still here." She frowned, puffing out her chubby cheeks. She was well aware of the fact that she wasn't acting like a child, and hoped that by pouting she somehow lightened the mood a bit. "I was thinking about being a ninja."

Tsume sighed, shrugging one shoulder at her. "You don't have to feel pressured, you know. I wouldn't force you to do anything you don't want to—you could go to a civilian school later on and be anything you want."

Hana considered it. "What if I wanted to be a criminal? Or a thief? Or a _starving artist_?"

Tsume let out a mock gasp. "Anything but that, surely—not an _artist_. _Not in this house_."

There she was, giving Hana another way out. Maybe Tsume didn't even want Hana to become a ninja—she knew the dangers of being a shinobi, she might not have wanted Hana to experience that life. Hana could go ahead and live her own way, free of bloodshed and heartbreak. She didn't have to get involved, it was her _choice_.

But Hana knew what was going to happen in the future, and she… she had an obligation to do something, didn't she? If she just ran away, who would get hurt in her place?

"How old do I have to be to join the academy?" she asked then, weighing her odds. She could take the classes, and quit, right? She didn't have to become a jounin and _save the world_. She could do small, deliberate acts that could change the foreseeable future for the better. Give Naruto some kindness as a child, maybe house train Kiba and Akamaru...

Perhaps... She could do this—maybe it wasn't impossible. She couldn't control the world or what happened, but... maybe make some lives easier? Be the sort of person they could rely on for a smile and some encouragement.

Little things. She could do little things.

"Most kids don't start until they're older—six at least," Tsume replied finally. "But... I could give you some early training if you really wanted it. The courses you'd take at school would be a lot easier with some skills built up in advance..." She looked at Hana, judging her.

"I can do it." she reassured, placing her hand in Tsume's. "I can learn."

And she really could—she _wanted to_ , even. She wanted to control her own chakra, find out the theory of it, how it flowed beneath her skin and how ninja could control it with hand signs. She wanted to protect herself and to have a better understanding of the world around her.

She didn't think she could wait until she was older. She couldn't stand doing nothing for that long—too much time would be wasted.

Hana had never traveled in her past life, but now, with the possibility of running across country in days, well. She had hopes, ideas and plans spinning in her head already. She didn't have to be a quiet nobody anymore, spending all her time silent and unmoving. She could be loud, fast—bold even. The thought made a shy smile come to her lips. She could reinvent herself now, a whole new life stretching out in front of her, with possibilities she didn't even know she had until this point. Her chest burnt with a new hope she didn't have a year ago, lost in a haze of confusion and sleep—before that even, stretching back to her previous life. It was the sort of feeling that she had gotten getting into university, or after facing one of her fears. It was feeling alive—feeling _brave._

Hana's cheeks flushed a light pink as Tsume caught her zoning out again, and she scratched the back of her neck. "I think… want to be a ninja… _Mother_." She wrinkled her nose at the formality but shot her guardian an honest smile. Maybe if she let herself be a little bit more optimistic, going through school would be a little bit easier.

Tsume's jaw dropped, but soon enough, the widest, _brightest_ grin stretched across her face. "I'd be _more than happy_ to teach you, kiddo."


	5. Chapter 5 - Training With Mama

**AN:** There's probably a better time to drop this, but if you're reading for #Romance in the future, this is me giving you a green light on that happening, 100%. Who though? You'll… probably figure that out in the future chapters, but it's going to be Very Slowburn, so I hope you like Suffering As Much As I Do

 **Edit Aug/01/2017 Beta'd by** **theaceoflemonades** **and FreelanceBum !**

 **Word count:** 2, 300

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Chapter 5 - Training with Mama**

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Hana couldn't deny the fact that she was excited to learn how to fight today. Her lessons with her mother had started off slow, with the two of them going over chakra theory, and meditating until they eventually worked their way up to Hana learning how to circulate it around and feed into her muscles. When Tsume had told her, after weeks of strict meditation, that they were finally going to try sparring, Hana could barely contain herself.

She was vibrating excitedly in her chair all that morning while they had breakfast—barely touching her eggs despite Tsume's warnings. With the feeling of very mild, watered down killing intent, coming from Tsume's direction, Hana scarfed down her food and shot out the door, escaping the evil, restrictive dining room.

It wasn't real killing intent, not really. It was more like broadcasting feelings through chakra, strong enough for other people to recognize. What Tsume broadcasted was _pressure_ —to eat _her food, to be patient, to not be so hasty_. Hana hadn't really experienced true killing intent before, but she was getting used to the idea of sensing chakra now. Well, somewhat used to it. The hairs on the back of her neck still rose whenever Tsume's energy flared, but maybe someday it be as easy as breathing, and it would help her later on in life, going up against S-Class nin and _real_ threats.

She didn't want to think about facing people like that in her future, but it was probably going to happen some time, right? _Especially_ if she decided to become a ninja full-time. Not that she _wanted to,_ of course. But she had the _possibility_.

They made their way outside, padding across the hardwood deck. Tsume hopped onto the grass, barely sparing Hana a glance—already waiting for her when she got there, knees slightly bent, completely focused on the matter at hand. It was a moment when Tsume wasn't somebody's mother, but a Shinobi; a warrior. She had that look about her. It was a little intimidating.

Hell, it was _really intimidating.  
_  
She could already feel her composure start to crumble.

Tsume noticed, obviously. "Now, don't tell me you're already losing your courage," She smirked. "And here you were, _excited_ to _learn_..."

"I _am_ excited!" Hana whined. "I wanna learn how to fight..."

"Good." Tsume nodded approvingly. "Then I want you to punch me."

"What...?"

She rolled her eyes. "I want you to _punch_ me—it's not that hard."

Hana blinked again. "Yeah, I get that, but _why_?"

"I want to see how you think you should throw a punch." Tsume stated plainly. "Before I start teaching you the basics, I wanna know what I'm working with beforehand," she sighed, beckoning Hana to come forward. "Alright— now, punch me."

"Right..." Hana muttered, clenching her hands into fists. They were so small and childlike; pretty pathetic, to be honest. She distinctly remembered not to tuck her thumb into her hand, that it would break if she hit anything. Did that mean her thumb went over her index finger and her middle finger? Or her ring finger too? We're her fingers supposed to be tucked in a certain way? What about her wrist?

"You're overthinking it, kid." Tsume snorted, covering Hana's hands with her own. "Just make what feels right, and _hit me_. We can correct what you do wrong as we go. And trust me—you _will_ do something wrong. It's okay though because this is a learning experience."

"You're right... sorry," Hana said, ducking her head in embarrassment.

"I'm _always_ right." Tsume smirked. "Now hit me!"

She could do that. And, curling her hand into a fist, she spent the rest of the morning punching Tsume's palms until the sun was high in the sky and her knuckles went raw.

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Sometimes there were moments when Hana forgot she was in the body of a child. Tsume spoke to her with almost if she knew Hana was smarter than her intended age group, and Kuromaru treated all humans with the same level or respect—or, well, disrespect—in her case, she was just a miniature human to him, or maybe a puppy.

(Nobody really explained the whole ' _pup_ ' nickname to her. Maybe it was part of the clan's dog theme and they were just going with it…?)

Regardless, Hana didn't think of herself as a child, and she didn't treat her body that way either.

"So," Tsume drawled, watching her daughter pant, exhausted, on the grass. "What have we learned today?"

"I'm right handed." Hana wheezed. "And I punch like a _girl_."

"Hey now, _I'm_ a girl. I can punch," the Inuzuka said, kneeling down. "Being female isn't a bad thing, don't talk like it is."

"Right, sorry," Hana muttered.

Tsume sighed. "There's a lot of people who might tell you otherwise, but being a girl isn't a bad thing. Kunoichi have to work twice as hard as any ninja to learn how to defend themselves—if you choose to be a ninja, your gender alone will make you a target." She frowned. "People will see you and they'll think you're weak. They'll second guess you and take you for a medic or a support, even if you have the muscles or scars to say otherwise."

Hana grimaced. "Why would someone take a chance like that?" _Especially if they were on a battlefield_...

"Because the world says we're _weak_ ," Tsume said, leaning closer. "That we should be docile and compliant. We should be wives, mothers or healers—that we can't be as strong as the rest of the world. That men are _always_ stronger. _Better_. "

"They're wrong," Hana argued. "We're equal."

"There's no man in the world that can make me do anything I don't want to," her mother stated, her eyes hard and steely. "If you train well, work past your handicaps, like being right handed for example..."

"I could be strong like you?"

Tsume grinned with more teeth than necessary. "Kid, you're gonna be _stronger_ than me someday. I guarantee it."

"Then let's keep practicing!" Hana said, jumping to her feet. She had _stars_ in her eyes—man, Tsume was so _cool_. She felt like she had won the jackpot for second mothers. This one was _badass_.

(She might be a liiiiiittle bit of a misandrist though? _Maybe_? Tsume had her heart in the right place. She encouraged Hana to take whatever path she wanted to and wholeheartedly believed that her gender couldn't hold her down. Compared to other parents, Tsume was ahead of times. _Imagine if Hana had been born into the Uchiha clan and married off. Ugh!)_ _  
_  
"Let's stick to the basics at least," Tsume replied, getting to her feet as well. "Show me your ready pose."

Considering that they just went over all the Academy stances, it wasn't that difficult to fall into.

"Right—good, remember to keep your elbows in," she corrected, tapping Hana's arm. "Now, if I were to swipe at you with my left hand, straight ahead, with my right foot forward..."

"I should counter like this?" Hana said, holding her left arm up to block. If she blocked with her right, she would have to overextend herself and put herself at risk, right?

Tsume nodded approvingly. "Good, but your center of gravity is off. Your arms are pretty short—when you grow up, it won't be such an issue, but..."

"It's something I have to work on." Hana sighed. It looked like getting better than Tsume was still just a dream.

"Don't beat yourself up about it," she said, patting her on the back. "Most kids your age aren't even worried about this sort of thing, you're _years_ ahead of most people. I wouldn't even be teaching you this if I wasn't convinced you could get it down."

"You really think so?" Hana asked incredulously. Because two and a half years old didn't seem like such a good age for training— _at least for her standards._

"For most things," Tsume assured. "I can teach you the basic stances now and we can work on it as you get older. Most of the clans start teaching early on, especially for clan heirs and prodigies..."

Hana blinked up at her. "You think I'm a prodigy?"

"You're my daughter, of _course_ you are," Tsume said, not bothering to hide the prideful tone in her voice. When Hana wasn't completely convinced, she frowned. "You've been able to draw portraits since you were _born_."

Hana looked guiltily off to the side. It wasn't like… she had tried hiding her skills at art, but she didn't think anything would come of it.

Tsume crossed her arms over her chest. "You started talking at nine months. You don't think you're special?"

Hana shrugged. "I thought a lot of kids learned that quickly," she lied. She was just... really, really bad at doing absolutely nothing. Acting like a normal kid bored her to tears—at least this way she was labeled as a ' _prodigy_ ' or whatever that meant, instead of some sort of _demon baby_.

She was slowly starting to learn how to read, but however frustrating it was for her it was one of the few challenges she could actually face and conquer. In her old life, there was technology and distractions—now, as a baby again, all she had was her thoughts. Language was one of the few ways she could interact with the world, and she was _damned_ if she ever spoke her native tongue to anyone. There was way too much risk involved. If she was singled out for ' _above average intelligence_ ' it wouldn't be that bad. She could live with that. She could suffer harder tests and complicated equations if it meant nobody questioned her subtle accent or thought she was out of place at all.

She just hoped her life wouldn't be _too_ painful if people thought she was a prodigy. Maybe later, the title would fade away and she could just be a normal, functioning adult.

That was the goal; Normal, self-sustainable, _reliable_. An adult. A _real_ adult. This time she could get it right. She wanted to pay taxes, have her own place— _god_ , she wanted to be financially stable enough to own a bathtub she could _fit_ into. Maybe even raise her own dog.

That was her new dream. To be a functioning adult. Not a kid prodigy. Just someone who could take care of herself. Someone who could actually live past 18 and not get stuck somewhere along the way. She wanted to live, she wanted her old adult responsibilities, _dammit._

"Anyway," Tsume sighed, walking back to the house, wrinkling her nose. "We can practice another time—I think Kuromaru needs a bath."

Reliable. Functioning. _Adult._

She followed after Tsume, imagining a life where she could be more mature. "Can I help?" 

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"It was _dead_ , and you _rolled_ in it..." Hana asked incredulously, "... _why?!_ "

"It enhances my scent," the canine said, ignoring the way she covered her nose with her hands. _God, why did it smell so bad?!_ "Not like that fruity soap you washed me with, _pah_." He glowered, sniffing his fur.

"Relax, at least this way the house won't smell so bad," Tsume sighed, picking up various brushes and bottles.

"I'm going to _die!_ oh my god, I can't stop _smelling it_ ," Hana cried.

"My scent is that of a _warrior_ —humans and animals alike fear me. They break out in a sweat when they catch my scent," Kuromaru growled, still not over his bath. "I am not some common _house pet;_ how _dare_ you cleanse me Tsume!"

Tsume rolled her eyes, picking up the tub they washed him in and walked back inside. "Maybe next time you should think before you roll in something rotting. Or… would you rather sleep outside for the rest of your life?"

Kuromaru watched Tsume leave with slit eyes, a low growl deep in his throat. He looked at Hana, ignoring the way the girl's eye were still watering. "You humans used to fear our kind. Your bravado would have cost you your _life_ generations ago."

"Yeah, but this is the present, Kuromaru! People don't go walking around town with a dog who smells like a _dead rat_."

The ninken sighed, sniffing his fur again. "I'm not just some pet dog..." he glowered. "I shouldn't smell like... Jasmine..? And _lilacs?_ Tsume, you _cur_ —!"

"I can't stop smelling it..." Hana whined, eyes red and puffy. "It's so _bad_ Kuromaru... I've never smelled anything so strong."

The ninken sighed, getting over his scent issues. "The Inuzuka clan is especially sensitive to strong smells…. for humans, that is," he tacked on as a second thought. "What you're experiencing now is probably something close to sensory overload. It will _pass_ —"

"This is the worst day of my _life—!_ " Hana moaned, tears spilling down her face. "Oh _god!_ "

"Right," Kuromaru said, flattening his ears. "I'll fetch you some mint to put under your nose. Hopefully, then you'll stop crying..."

"Hurry!" she bawled, falling to her knees. "—before I can't smell anything ever _again!_ "

That was actually how she found out she was allergic to mint, apparently. And how she spent an entire week unable to smell.

So much for _maturity._

(As it turned out, she had a lot more to learn about her new body than she originally thought. Being an adult would take a little more growing up.)


	6. Chapter 6 - Shallow Goodbye and early Hi

**Edit Aug/22/2017 Beta'd by FreelanceBum !**

 **Edit Mar/03/2018 Because I Had To Ok.** _(_ _｡◕‿◕｡_ _) =ε/̵͇̿̿/'̿'̿ ̿ ̿̿ ̿̿ ̿̿_

 **Word Count:** **7,260**

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 **Chapter 6: A Shallow Goodbye and Early Hello**

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Relations between the Elemental Nations became more strained as time went on. The general decline in power between shinobi villages made it more and more difficult to keep borders secure, and the distrust between hidden villages resulted in an arms race even after the last war had been declared over. Neither side fully trusting the other to stay peaceful for long.

Konoha was a _big player_ when it came to power, rivalling the hidden villages of Iwagakure and Kumogakure since their hayday. Despite constant conflicts that put their forces at risk of losing ground, they still stood toe to toe against the other nations since their foundation. While legendary shinobi and powerful clans helped defend Konoha's borders, it wasn't enough to keep smaller villages from going on the offensive, and any land not claimed by the leaf was suspected of turning on them, which lead to distrust and paranoia throughout the country. It was everyone for himself—a desperate struggle for power that eventually brought forth the _Third Shinobi War,_ just as it had brought the first and second.

Hana was three when it began, though one could argue that it started long before she was born.

When the Third Hokage officially declared that their village was at war with the the rest of the nations, people didn't have to talk in quiet whispers about what was going on anymore—the talk of war was everywhere—nobody could escape it now that it was really happening. It was the only thing that occupied the minds the adults; there was a great fear that the third war would end up just as long and bloody as the last. Most children born in the second war were only just old enough to participate in the third—only decades of healing could soften the horrors they had witnessed, but they had only been given a few short years of fragile peace instead.

In the end, it was strike first, and worry about your own survival later. It didn't matter if the enemy lost hundreds, maybe thousands of young soldiers; the more of them down, the better. Who cares if some of them were fresh out of the academy? An enemy nin was an enemy nin. If they got the chance, they would've cut you down just the same.

Hana was from a clan—she knew what was expected of her. She was too young to be thrown into battle, too young to start school yet, but she still got a front row seat to watch most of her clan march off to war. Her parents were shinobi, her clan was too. It was just... _difficult_ to see them look so ready for total warfare. Like the village had been teaching them since they were young that dying for their cause was the most honourable thing to do.

Their entire lives, they had been taught to believe in killing. To believe in power and military force. That murder in the name of some Daimyō or leader—a Kage, with _all_ the power at their disposal, was right. That marching off to certain doom was honourable, and that every citizen should enlist as soon as possible, to protect their country and family.

And sure, there was some merit in that. There were people Hana would've died for in her old life, a future she could have fought for if she was being pressured into it. But _war_? For what purpose? Getting more land? Being the big bully nation that took all the spoils? She couldn't support that. There was nothing honourable in leaving your child parentless. There was no glory felt in an empty house.

There was no justice in war, no honor in murder. The shinobi way might have condoned killing and child soldiers, but Hana refused to buy into it. She didn't want to connect with people if it meant that they'd go out on a mission and end up _dead_ the next day— or come home covered in blood and reeking of human remains. Where was the _justice system?_ Where was the law? If the world ran on a loosely coded set of morals reinforced by nobody, _no wonder_ Kiri ended up culling its bloodline users and setting up death matches between their academy students. The shinobi world was a _bloody disaster._

 _Pah_ , ninjas and their fighting.

Hana was going to be sick.

 **.**

 **~ X ~**

 **.**

"Hasukī-san will be here everyday looking after you." Tsume said again, dropping her bags by her side. "We'll come back as soon as we can..."

"Be _careful,_ " was all Hana could say, gripping onto her mother's flack-jacket, her forehead protector bright and polished around her neck. "Make sure Kuromaru stays safe," she murmured, wrapping her arms around Tsume in a tight hug.

Hana didn't want this. She didn't want to see Tsume go. She didn't want to care about someone once more only to have them get _ripped away_ again. She had wanted to keep her new parents at an arm's length so neither of them would suffer, but... seeing Tsume now…. well, she couldn't _not_ give her a meaningful goodbye. Tsume probably wouldn't be the same coming back.

 _If_ she came back.

No… s _he would._ She _had to_.

...how else would Kiba get born?

Hana even hugged her biological father when he came forward. _Tatsuo Shibata_ was a tall, emotionally distant shinobi, with a deep voice and wavy brown hair, pulled into a loose ponytail. In some circles, he could have been regarded as a really handsome guy. All danger and rugged looks, he probably could've been a model or something in another time. He had the cheekbones and an air of mystery about him that could have been quite attractive.

Hana didn't see the appeal, he was always so _distant_ with her. Sure, she was distant with him first, and wasn't the easiest kid to take care of, but with him it was like he didn't even _try_. At least Tsume had _that_ going for her—that was why Hana was finally starting to open up a bit more to her—but Tatsuo? He changed like, _two diapers_ , and then he was gone, _like a leaf in the wind_. It aggravated Hana to no end, because she had gone through one distant father figure before; going through it a second time was just _ridiculous_.

Sure, maybe her parents were just young and inexperienced. Maybe they got in over their heads and were figuring things out as they went along. Tsume couldn't have been older than twenty, and Tatsuo wasn't much older, but if Hana was in her father's position, she would have pulled herself together a _long time ago_ if there was a _kid involved_.

So that's what she was doing. Pulling herself together for the sake of her parents. Putting on a loving facade so they could hear their daughter bid them farewell as they went off to war and risked their lives.

She was willing to give Tatsuo _a chance_ , she wanted to see him and Tsume be _happy_. If she had to fight her insecurity and fake it until she made it, than she sure as hell was gonna fake it _good._

Tsume passed Hana into the arms of Tatsuo after they were done, and she wrapped her little arms around the man's neck and buried her face into his hair. "Make sure you come back safe, okay? Don't forget to eat lots of rations and remember to stock up your kunai pouch before each battle."

Tatsuo looked... upset— _guilty_ , maybe. He was going off to war after all, maybe he was just afraid of dying so soon. Maybe he felt bad for being a shitty dad for the past four years of her life, and didn't feel like he deserved her concern now. Either way, he awkwardly returned the hug and set her back down on her feet, his eyes distant and expression troubled.

Next to him, Kuromaru lowered his head and let her run her little fingers through his fur one last time as she said her goodbyes. "You _will_ be safe here," he said, as if to reassure himself. " Hasukī has been instructed to guard you until we return, or... if we don't come back."

"He'll take good care of me," she murmured, reassuring the wolf dog with a forced smile. "Just make sure you come back home in one piece, okay?"

The canine nodded. "I promise."

"Come on Hana, we can watch them go from the gate," Hasukī said, scooping her up into his arms.

She bit her lip, watching the three of them gather their things. They weren't the only ones saying their goodbyes—other families in the clan were too. Children and parents crying, embracing, trying to have just a few more moments with their loved ones. It was the same story outside the clan grounds, every family was losing someone important to them, nobody was left untouched.

War demanded everyone sacrifice something for the greater good.

 _What did that even mean?_ _Greater good..._

Blood and sacrifice.

War and glory.

Land and money.

Power and greed.

 _Who was the bad guy if they were all just people? What was the point?_

"I love you!" Hana called, waving goodbye. They were the only people in her new world who she had to hold onto after losing everything from her last life. She didn't want to let herself get hurt again, but at some point, she had started _feeling things_ and now she couldn't stop. All it took for her to connect with her new parents was a horrible, bloody war separating them for her to realize that she _cared_. Did that make her jaded, or a bad person?

At the very least, it meant she had severe intimacy issues…. and she was a fool for not realizing how much they all meant to her by now.

On the other hand, she had the next couple years to sort her issues out while Tsume, Tatsuo and Kuromaru were out fighting. Compared to them, her job was the _easy one_.

(Going crazy with worry and dread over their well being? _Not so much_.)

 **.**

 **~ X ~**

 **.**

Training on her own meant Hana had to take out a lot of different books and read up on certain things that Tsume had yet to teach her. For that to work, she had to learn how to read better.

It took her an embarrassing amount of time to get better at it, but when she finally mastered her alphabet, she felt like a great weight had been lifted off her shoulders. The world was so much more _accessible_ in the months after the war was declared. On her fourth birthday, Hasuki took her to the library and they took out every book they could before the librarian stopped them. Hasuki carried all of them home for her in a backpack, and though he struggled with the weight, knowing that she could read any book at their disposal brought such a massive a smile to her face, it made Hasuki stumble and nearly drop them all.

If Tsume was there, she would have laughed.

She stuck to a dedicated studying schedule,and kept to the training regime Tsume had assigned her before leaving, making sure she did laps around the neighbourhood in her free time. She wasn't ever alone when she trained, and she didn't push herself in the name of getting ripped or anything. She knew her body was still young and fragile, so she didn't go beyond her capabilities. Still, she made it her quest to memorise all of her Kata forms, learning the right way how to strike someone. She did her best to increase her strength and speed, and managed to put some muscle into her tiny chicken legs after months of solid exercise and training.

She wasn't a powerhouse, but she felt like she had made some progress. She was _proud_ of the fact that she could run faster than before, twice the speed of the civilian kids, and she started really enjoying her training regimen. She didn't get as _dog tired_ as she did as a baby, but it was a vast improvement to the days when she could barely walk up the stairs without having to catch her breath.

Oh, childhood youth…. Where had all her energy gone?

...Probably into puberty, if she was being honest.

Ah, well. At least her new body could keep up with the rest of the world now. Hana could wait a couple years for puberty to hit—she was still enjoying her energy boost.

 **.**

 **~ X ~**

 **.**

Officially, the Third Shinobi War lasted just three short years. Few treaties were signed, and about a dozen more were made pointless thanks to countless invasions and backstabs, but the first real sign of the war coming to a close was when Hana heard the name _Minato Namikaze_ and _Yellow Flash_ come up more and more in conversations.

News traveled slowly from the front lines and Konoha was left in the dark for the most of the war. Well, Hana was left in the dark. She was a civilian, a child. She got little information from eavesdropping—Hasukī was her only real source of information, and even _he_ censored almost any of the information she managed to pry from him.

She couldn't hold it against him, he was just trying to protect her.

Life with Hasukī was slow and monotonous. At its center it was safe and stable, which she appreciated, and she knew that the teen was trying his best to take care of her, but her hunger for knowledge kept her from really enjoying the slower, cushy pace that her babysitter seemed to favor. He always listened to her when she talked about her stories, he never complained—sure, sometimes he was a little overbearing and bit of a mother hen—but he had his heart in the right place.

Hana humored him most of the time, even though living with him felt like every moment was safeguarded by a million pointless parental traps. Cushy and stable was an _understatement._

She could sort of understand it herself, having lived a civilian life similar to his a couple years back, but with chakra and Bijuu and a _war_ happening right in their backyard, she didn't get why he always wanted to go the safe route and life so carefully. He was supposed to be an Inuzuka, right? Weren't they all supposed to live on the _wild side?_

Hasuki Inuzuka did nothing of the sort.

"Uuh…. Hana-chan? What… are you doing?"

Brown eyes flicked back up from her easel and her paintbrush, hovering just an inch above the canvas, stilled in her hands. "What does it look like?"

The teenager opened his mouth to answer her but caught her sarcasm a moment later. He huffed, and sat down next to her by the kitchen table, drying his hands on his apron. "I know what you're doing, but…. why are you painting me?"

Hana closed her eyes and sat back in her chair haughtily, dropping her paintbrush in her cup of water. "Is that what you think it's supposed to be?"

"Okay, art is supposed to be up for interpretation. I get it. Sorry for stepping on your toes, master artist," Hasuki muttered under his breath, trying to get a peek at her work now that she had tilted it away from him.

"I do not _art_ , I _originate_ , I am a producer of _visual mastery_. It's maestro to you, _uncultured swine_." She huffed and slid from her chair, done with painting for the day.

Hasuki could hear the tap turn on from the kitchen, but he was much more interested in the little portrait sitting on the kitchen table. Her little easel was propped up on a couple textbooks to give it more height, and he quickly wiped a drop of blue paint off the cover of one text, desperately hoping that it wasn't one that belonged to the library.

When Hana got back, she found him squinting at the composition of the painting, looking at it so close she could have sworn his breath was pushing the paint around.

"...are my cheeks really that big? and why is everything painted in blue and orange squiggles?"

Hana scowled at him, wiping her wet hands on her painting shirt. "Does it matter?"

"I—I dunno..." He backed away from the painting, puffing out his cheeks and feeling them with this side of his hand. "I guess not.."

"Okay, look." Hana got him to back up to the edge of the dining room by tugging on the hem of his shirt, far enough away from the painting only took up a fraction of their view. "try looking at it now. What do you see?"

"Uhhhh..." He squinted at the picture, trying to make out all the little details from so far away. "Not a lot?"

"See, that's the point, the farther you go from the picture, the less detail you see, the less it gives you enough detail for one to make out the image of a person, while also exploring color theory and how hot and cold light interact with the human face."

For a moment, Hasuki did nothing more than stare at her.

Hana scowled and pinched the bridge of her nose. "It's abstract. It's supposed to look like that, okay?"

"Uh…" There was a long pause. "...sure?"

She had lost him. Tsume would have at least humored her.

Acting like an art snob didn't seem as fun anymore.

"Okay, I think I'm done painting for the day," Hana muttered, packing up her paints. She threw her dirty paint brushes into her cup of water and took them to the kitchen sink, washing them out and drying the soft bristles on her smock before she took them back to her little paint case.

Part of her wanted to keep working on the picture, but the more she looked at it, the most she wanted to refine it and make it more realistic. Abstract was one of the only styles she could use that didn't make people look at her differently because it was looser, it looked like a kid could have made it, but she had over explained again and ruined the illusion.

She wanted to share a part of herself that she still loved, but more and more she found herself frustrated. At least Tsume understood most of the time.

She had spent enough time with Hasuki that they had mostly gotten used to one another by now. Her little quirks weren't usually so weird to him anymore, but sometimes she still needed to rein herself in. He was actually willing to put up with a lot of her crap without making much of a fuss, and it was a quality she really enjoyed in him. Living with him twenty four seven was pretty daunting at first. Hasuki liked things clean all the time. He didn't like loud noises, and quite often preferred staying away from other clansmen and keeping to himself whenever possible.

That last part didn't seem out of the ordinary at first, but when they went out shopping, she found he almost always preferred to give any other inuzuka a wide berth, and she never saw him interact with other shinobi unless they approached him first. She realized she didn't know much about his past in the first place.

It was a small mystery that kept her watching Hasuki's behavior as the war went on.

She watched him now, cooking their dinner later that night, from their kitchen table. He had made sure she had showered and scrubbed all the paint off her hands and thrown her smock in the laundry before they ate. No longer did the house smell like plastic and oil pigment, but garlic and basil, chile and onions. He was a fantastic chef, and always made sure not to cook with any mint or other herbs that she had an allergy to (avocados and raisins were strictly banned in the Inuzuka compound for similar reasons).

"Where did you learn how to cook?" she asked, propping her chin up on the table with her little arm.

He didn't turn around to answer her, simply stirring the sauce for their food and keeping his attention on the pot of noodles about to boil over. "I learned on my own."

She decided to needle him a little more. "Your parents didn't like, teach you anything?"

"Oh, uh…" His stirring stopped for just a moment, before he hastily picked up the pace again. "Not really. I don't really get to learn much from them, to be honest."

"Oh." Hana's eyes watched her cousin's shoulders tense as a small silence stretched out between them, and she wondered if she had hit a nerve.

"I didn't grow up an orphan or anything," he said, quickly trying to diffuse the awkwardness in the room. He looked over his shoulder and forgot their food in favor of explaining himself. "My parents split up a couple years after I was born and had their own respective families while the second war was still going on. It's been maybe… ten years since my mother moved to the land of Honey with her new husband. I think her life is nice, but she hasn't, uh, sent any letters or anything, so I wouldn't know."

"And your dad?"

Hasuki turned back to the food, stirring quickly. "He died in the war."

"Oh…"

 _Maybe she shouldn't have asked._

"I'm sorry."

"It's… uh, okay."

A long moment passed, from when she let her hands fall to her lap and she let her eyes drift from Hasuki's rigid back, to the moment where she sat and stared at the family photos on the wall. Happy faces of Tsume and Tatsuo as teenage sweethearts, old worn photographs of Kuromaru and Tsume back in their genin days, when her ninken was just a puppy with paws too big for his legs. There were pictures of her mother with a mischievous, bright smile and none of the scars that marked her body from years of fighting, side by side with several older looking boys she never mentioned, clansmen Hana never got to meet.

She wondered where the pictures of her grandparents were, and why Tsume never seemed to mention them. Maybe there was a reason for that, too.

Maybe… with a new war happening right when she grew up… Hana would know what that was like firsthand…

( _She really hoped not_.)

"H—hey… do you think…"

"They're going to be okay," Hasuki said, picking up on the pinched, awkward warble to her voice. He had turned back around to watch her stare at her family photographs, and she wondered how easy it was to read her face was at that moment.

"R-right…. yeah…" She nodded, looking down at the old worn tablecloth. She picked at a frayed piece of it, tugging free a couple red threads with her nails, before she let them fall down to the ground. "Mom's too tough to let something like a little war get to her."

"Of course. Tsume-sama going to be the next clan head when she returns." Hasuki brought over their dinner and dished her up a plate of food. He show her a tight, hopeful smile as he sat down, and she wondered how much of it was real, and how much of that smile was just played up for her benefit. "We have to have complete faith in her. She'll come home soon enough."

 _Yeah, one way or another._

Hana swallowed and looked down at her food. She didn't know if she should be comforted by that thought or _terrified_.

 **.**

 **~ X ~**

 **.**

Tsume's feet hit the floor of her hospital room with a soft _slap_. She needed to move, she needed to make sure the corners of her room weren't trapped. She needed to make contact with her superior, tell them that she had done her job, _she had pulled through, they wouldn't need to worry about the northeastern front anymore, she had_ —

She had overexerted herself and almost died. Again. There had been countless times, what made this any different why did they ship her back home, why did they have to _discharge her?! They still needed her out there! She could still fight!_

Her bandaged knuckled beat into her mattress, _thump—thump—thump—_ she wasn't a little girl, she had a duty to do! Why didn't the hokage understand that she had fought tooth and nail for her position, for the respect of her platoon, for her clan! Now was not the time to send back one of their greater assets, now was a time to crush their enemies into the dust while they had them on the run! Why didn't they understand that…? Why… why did she have to be the odd man out?

It was humiliating. It was demeaning, it was exactly the kind of thing the pigs in her clan would expect after all those years—yeah, the Inuzuka had their fair share of bigots, but what clan didn't? She had worked so damn hard to get to the top, she had sacrificed everything, she had poured her blood sweat and tears into making sure the legacy of her family didn't just end in her father's disgrace and her brother's death in the last war. She had brought them back up to something worth remembering, she had brought them back up to the title her family _deserved_. Damn everyone who thought she couldn't pull it off. It was in her _blood_.

And now—and now…

Tsume looked across at the mirror on her wall, her limbs blooming blues and greens, bandaged all to hell. There was a pride burning in her chest, hot and all-consuming, so deeply resentful of the decision that put her here. _Early discharge…_ It was an insult to her ability and status.

She was in a white tank top and shorts, her feet bare save for the bandages taped against her ankles and the flat of her foot, a couple broken toes splinted with wood. Her eyes were red rimmed, plum purple underneath and bloodshot. She had slept for twenty three hours since she got back in the land of fire, but she felt hungover and exhausted. Soldier pills made sleepless nights a killer on her insides, and—

Her gaze shifted a fraction down to her _abdomen,_ and then—

No, _no no nonono_ not happening. Tsume looked at anything other than the mirror suddenly, her fists balled up in her sheets as she thickly swallowed a knot in her throat. Early dismissal. She had been kicked back to Konoha after the greatest duty and performance of her life, cut short because—

 _They weren't going to make a housewife out of her._ She was more than what they said about her, more than anything of what the men felt was so true, so black and white, they said it was her nature. It wasn't the warring states anymore, things were different. She was a fucking _kunoichi,_ she deserved more than a fate of just pumping out babies and standing aside while everyone else got to fight for what they believed in. What kind of life was that? Goddamn _early dismissal_ , what a bloody _joke_.

"You should not be moving yet…" grumbled Kuromaru, one golden eye opening and peering at her from the safest vantage point in the hospital. She knew her partner too well. Perhaps he did as well. "You have several hours remain until you're to see your pup again. You should spend them wisely. _Asleep_."

"I dont need to listen to you," she muttered, kicking her blanket off the bed in a huff. "I've been asleep all day anyway. It's the middle of the night, I don't need anymore energy."

"You might now, but…" Kuromaru's single eye—all that remained after the conflict, the other, bandaged shut—drifted lower, and Tsume wished she hadn't discarded her blanket, wanting to hide under it. "When are we going to talk about this, Tsume?"

"We don't need to talk about it," she said hastily, laying back down and turning on her side, so her back faced her ninken. "Really."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes."

"You may not have as much time as you think before your not talking becomes a problem—"

"They dismissed me early Kuromaru," she bitterly said, her arms reaching out the clutch her pillow, grounding her. "They dismissed _us_."

"And you don't believe it was in your best interest?" His single ear flattened against his head as Tsume cursed at him. "In _our_ best interest, then?"

She shifted onto her back, looking at him out of the corner of her eye. "Don't kid yourself. You know as well as I do that we could have outrun the lot of them. _They needed us_ back there. They needed _me_."

"And now you're here." Kuromaru stared at her unblinkingly as she bared her teeth at him in a scowl. "You must obey your master's orders now. It is not an uncommon concept. You should—"

"I'm not a pack member though, I'm a leader. _Nobody_ bosses the leader around. Stick that in your little concept speak and _shove it_." Her voice came out harsher than intended, but she stuck to her words.

Kuromaru huffed, unamused. "You still answer to the Hokage. Your life impacts that of the clansmen below you, and the village now. What would your pup think if you expired at the end of the war, falling on your own sword? Your pride will undo us one day, as it has in the past."

She could sense a second wave to his nagging, and she wouldn't have it, taking her pillow and putting it over her ears as she drowned him out. "I'm not listening to any more of this!"

"—childish if you want t—"

"La la la la~"

"—arents wouldn't have wanted you to—"

"La La La La LA~!"

"—ie without grandkids and—"

"LA. LA. LA."

"—regnant on the _battlefield,_ Tsume, _really_ —"

"I'm done with this, I'm going to sleep now." She promptly turned over again and forced her eyes closed, ignoring everything else her lousy caine had to say. Of course he was worried about her wellbeing, of course. He was the worst nag yet. Probably more than Hasukī when he was concerned about her. _Ugh_.

She was dreading the idea of seeing him tomorrow.

Hana though—

No, she wasn't going to think about it. All it brought was a sickly guilty feeling to her stomach, and all Tusme could think about was her platoon and how they were still doing out there. How tatsuo was still out there, _fighting_. It'd be weeks before he'd be back. She deserved to be out there too.

It wasn't _right_.

 **.**

 **~ X ~**

 **.**

The war hadn't ended when Tsume and Kuromaru came back. Hana supposed she should be grateful to see them so soon, but she wasn't. She couldn't, seeing them brought back in pieces. They returned injured, _broken_ soldiers of war. Hana wasn't even able to see them for long—that was how bad their condition was. She had been worried sick about them.

She heard from Hasukī that Kuromaru refused to leave Tsume's hospital room, too shaken and distrustful of humans to let the doctors come near. He was completely different—wild, rather than tame, like the ninken she had grown up with. At least, that was what she heard in the beginning. They wouldn't let her see him until he calmed down and stopped growling at anything that moved.

Tsume was a similar story. She had been brought back, to Hana's knowledge, injured, but alive. Nobody would elaborate—probably to give a fallen soldier some dignity. Hana really didn't care for it. She wanted to see Tsume, she didn't care if she was hurt or breathing through a tube or hated her guts all of a sudden, she just wanted to be there for her. Tusme was supposed be her mother, it shouldn't have to matter if she looked like hell, Hana had already been robbed two years with her, why keep them apart now?

It was winter when Hasukī brought her to the hospital, and by that time, the Elemental Nations had agreed to a ceasefire. There were moments where it looked like Konoha was in danger of losing the war, posed against both the land of Lightning and Rock—but, unsurprisingly, the yellow flash made his debut, the battle of Kannabi Bridge happened, and, evidently, _Rin Nohara_ died keeping the three tails from destroying the village. Nobody told her the last part, but it probably happened. Then the war was over, troops were finally returning from the battlefield, and tension was finally starting to leave Konoha. Families were reunited, the _new_ hokage, Minato Namikaze, was declared shortly after his success against Kumo, and the entire Fire Nation as far as Hana knew came out relatively okay.

' _Okay_ ,' meaning Konoha wasn't blown up, or lost anything, and that their shinobi forces weren't completely obliterated like Kumo's. Better them than us, right? _Pah_. Hana didn't feel anything towards the new hokage, and she wasn't jazzed to hear about his wedding either. To her, he was just another fake, fictional character ruling over living, breathing people, after slaughtering thousands of them in war. Shinobi lives or not, she wasn't Minato's biggest fan. Maybe if he was a character in a book, but not when he had the power to lead them all into war again.

(She might have developed a dislike for authority figures over those two years.)

Tsume, in the hospital, was worse than Hana thought she would be. After several weeks of rest and even a medically induced coma to keep her stable as she recovered, Tsume looked like absolute shit. It was like the woman had been put through a meat grinder- it was awful, and that was after _weeks_ of the best medical care Konoha could afford. Christ, Kuromaru looked better, and he was sporting an eyepatch and lost an _ear_.

She wasn't allowed to pet him, so she sent him concerned looks across the hospital room every so often. The canine had adopted a standoffish, gruff persona since they entered the hospital room, and while he may have been a bit rough around the edges before, he didn't hide the hard, embittered look in his eye when they saw him. Like the little girl he helped raise could suddenly turn on him, or the one of the nurses, or _Hasukī,_ for that matter. Could dogs get PTSD? She certainly hoped not.

She shook the thought from her head, approaching Tsume's hospital bed. They had her chakra blocked apparently—Hana could _vaguely_ feel the woman's energy move sluggishly from there on the bed. Her hands were raw and wrists taught with bandages. It looked like at some point her arms had been restrained from the cuffs hanging uselessly by the side of the bed.

Hana could remember a similar setup in her past life. The white hospital sheets, beeping monitors, the smell of disinfectant covering up the musky scent of something _biological_ and _rotting_. Hospitals had always put her on edge; it was a house of healing, but also one of death. People entered but sometimes didn't leave—wrapped up in medication and wires to keep them alive, just long enough to say a final goodbye. Memories of her _uncle_ from her past life flashed before her eyes. She shouldn't be thinking about it—shouldn't draw lines between Tsume and him, it wasn't right.

Tsume wasn't dying—she didn't have cancer or a _tumour_ , she wasn't wasting away in her bed while her family put on a brave face and wiped away their tears. Tsume was healing, getting better, even. She had a husband and a daughter who cared about her. She still had an entire lifetime ahead, even if it was harder, living a life after the war. They could make it work—Hana could help her. She could help Tsume and Kuromaru both. She just had to look forwards instead of backwards. Life couldn't always work like that.

Tsume was _family,_ and it hurt to see her so beaten up in her bed.

Hana approached Tsume's cot, putting her warm hand in Tsume's lukewarm one. Hasukī had brought bright, colourful looking flowers from the Yamanaka flower shop to liven up the hospital room. Lavender, because it was a calming scent and helped with insomnia, anxiety and stress, which patients usually felt after significant trauma. For somebody sensitive to smells, like Inuzuka, it was especially important to have positive soothing scents around. Sensory sensitivity and all that.

(The clan had a special deal going on with the Yamanaka clan just for it- lower prices on essential oils and fragrant flowers, in exchange for better rates for rarer game and meat. Hasuki had told her so when they visited)

"Hey Tsu-Tsu," Hana whispered, drawing up beside her bed. She didn't know what to say, the closer she got the more bruised Tsume was, she was almost afraid to stand next to her, to see the damage at its fullest extent. And somehow Tsume still had the energy to sit calmly and collect her thoughts? She wrinkled her nose. "H—haven't you gotten anyone to comb your hair? It's awful."

"Can't," Tsume snorted, moving her shoulder as if to shrug. The bandages wrapping her chest were pulled taught. She seemed to consider her words for a moment. "Won't. I look scarier like this, right?" She winked at her. She sounded like she hadn't spoken in months, like communication had boiled down to whispering and shouting.

"Maybe next time I visit I'll bring a comb," Hana hummed, watching the busy machinery hooked up to her, before she saw Hasukī shaking his head at her. "Or not," she said, sighing. She read the words 'potential hazard' on his lips. "Maybe we could do some _finger combing_ next time. Yeah, that sounds good."

Tsume watched her. "How's your training been going while I've been gone?"

"I've been working really hard on my stances," Hana answered, tightening her grip on her mother's hand. "I know how to sense chakra now, and Hasukī has been showing me how to throw Kunai."

"The rubber ones at least," Hasukī said, withering under Tsume's sudden critical eye. "She's been doing well—she hits all the targets now, most of them getting within the second ring at least."

Tsume's eyes darted back to Hana. "We'll have to work on that before you enter the academy. You need to get _stronger._ "

Well, uh, Hana had already felt pretty good about her progress but uh—um. Sure, okay. She could do that…? Hana just wanted to make her _proud_.

Hasuki easily deflected the tension that suddenly entered the room. "Do you know when you'll be allowed to leave?"

"Oh, I'm sure they'd loooove to keep me here," the Inuzuka drawled, tugging at the cuffs keeping her in the bed, for extra emphasis. Her tone was sinister and bitter. "They dismissed me early and everything."

"We can visit as often as you'd like?" Hasuki said uneasily. "You can help Hana with her hiragana—"

"Ink is the worst. I can't stop the letters from bleeding together!" Hana exclaimed, desperate to connect again and join in on the conversation.

But _oh_ , that was probably a bad idea. Both Tsume and Kuromaru tensed, flinching at the volume. Tsume's heart monitor spiked, and her grip on Hana's hand tightened, sharp nails digging into Hana's skin. Hard for something to _crack._

"Sorry—I'm sorry," Hana whimpered as Hasukī hurriedly pried Tsume's fingers away. "I didn't mean to yell, I—"

Tsume's eyes were far away, dazed and glossy as she struggled to find her hospital room again. She blinked, and suddenly let go of Hana's hand, looking at her daughter but not really _seeing_ all of her.

"I think we should get going now, Hana-chan," Hasukī said as he slung an arm around her shoulders. " _She didn't mean it_ ," he whispered in her ear, dragging her away.

"Oh god, oh—shit, shit, what did I do?" Tsume asked, voice tight with worry, watching as Hana held her hand at an awkward angle, across the hospital room. "Oh my god what's _wrong with me_ —"

" _N_ — _Nothing is wrong_ ," Hana hissed, desperate not to make her think she was hurt that badly. Eyes watering, she let go of her injured hand and stretched out her aching digits despite the pain, waving her injured hand goodbye as they edged out the door. Her eyes flicked towards Kuromaru, standing protectively at the side of her bed. "W—Watch over her, okay?"

"Same, to the boy taking care of you," he said in a gruff, gravelly voice. Deeper than before—perhaps from injury. "You should get your hand checked, pup," he sighed, before turning to his master.

Hana nodded, following Hasukī out the door. One good thing about hospitals was that it wasn't short on doctors at least.

 **.**

 **~ X ~**

 **.**

 _Thunk, thunk, thunk,_

Three kunai whizzed through the air, hitting their targets across the clan training grounds. Hana frowned, pocketing the remaining knives in her hand to check out her aim.

Two kunai were stuck firmly in the third ring of the target, with the last hitting the line between the _center_ and the _second_ ring. It wasn't good enough— _not by far_.

Another thing to work on. To improve upon. In between practicing her taijutsu every morning, target practice, and suffering through her hiragana at night.

Suffering wasn't even the tip of the iceberg—she was beginning to get a bit frustrated at her lack of progress now that Tsume pointed it out. Sure, for kids, she was doing great. She'd probably be top of her class when she started at the academy. But... it wasn't good enough. She was used to being very good at a few things, like _drawing_ or _writing_ and maybe even a few others if she was being generous, but none of them could save her life.

She was in the body of a _child_ for god's sakes, she was already vulnerable. Holding dangerous information about the future could only make her _more_ of a target. Tsume was right—she _did_ have to get stronger. And to do that, she'd have to commit all of her time towards being a ninja, as much as she hated it. She would get stronger, surpass her mother, and be capable enough to keep herself safe. She'd be the best goddamn prodigy in the Elemental Nations. She would. She'd shoot for Jounin—no, _Sannin_ standards.

There were people in this world powerful enough to cripple Tsume and put in her in a hospital bed. To demolish entire armies, and blow up villages if they wanted. If she couldn't match up against people like _Orochimaru_ in the future, that made her a target. A victim. And she refused to let that happen. Tsume was strong, the leader of her clan, and look what had happened to her.

An early dismissal. And for what?

No compromise, no turning back.

She pried the three kunai out of their target, marching back across the training grounds. She sighed, steadying her breathing. She palmed the knives in her hands, the sharp metal that could end a life, even end a war if used correctly.

 _Sannin_ , she thought, flinging the kunai at her target. _She'd be as strong as the Sannin_.

 _Thunk, thunk thunk._


	7. Chapter 7 - Progress and Preparation

**Beta'd by** **theaceoflemonades & ****FreelanceBum !**

 **Edit April/29/2018** (ﾉ◕ヮ◕)ﾉ*:・ﾟ✧

 **AN** : _Join my little writing Discord for info, fanart and behind the scenes stuff! Or just to hang out lol._ [ /DUrCV6W ]

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 **Chapter 7 - Progress and Preparation**

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Tsume was given the clear a few weeks _after_ Hana's first visit. Her arm was in a sling and cast, and Tsume _still_ jumped at every loud noise, but she seemed to have a stronger hold on things. Kuromaru was more than helpful, often following in her shadow constantly and being a pillar for support for her. Like a service dog, but grumpier, and with an eyepatch.

Hana made sure not to be too loud, keeping a respectful distance from her mother while still giving her as much support as she could. Hasuki had been living on their couch for the past _two years_ and seemed pretty reluctant to leave, before Tsume mumbled something about letting him stay. It made sense—another ninja in the house meant more security and a less of a chance for Tsume to accidentally hurt her daughter again. Plus, more than half the house was dealing with the trauma and PTSD from war, neither parent was really in the headspace to play family, they were in and out the door more times Hana could count.

Hana shouldn't have been surprised when her father came home, only to go back to ignoring her again. Tatsuo Shibata was the same tactless, emotionally distant prick before the war, sporting a couple new scars on his face and a nervous twitch whenever he was in the same room as his daughter.

After everything Tsume went through, at least she put the effort into being around Hana. Hell, Hana wasn't even a high maintenance child anymore. No more tantrums, or tears or nightmares- she had handled her issues pretty well, all things considered. Well, she hadn't, but her new mission to get stronger didn't really give her a moment to worry. It didn't give her any time _at all_ \- 90% of her energy was spent on physical conditioning, punching better, throwing better, writing stupid Kanji better. The rest was spent eating and reading up on what the academy would teach her later on- basic mathematics and lessons that she needed to brush up on if she was going to be top in her class. She didn't think the academy classes would be hard, but it would be pretty embarrassing for her if she let 12 year old beat her at basic multiplication.

Hana closed her book. The day when math saved her life... she'd eat Kuromaru's eyepatch if that ever happened.

She made her way to the kitchen, eyeing her mother's ninken on the floor. If he was around, so was her mother. Though, she couldn't see her...

She felt around with her chakra a bit, sensing Kuromaru's energy after a few seconds, and Hasukī's in the other room. Her dad, again, wasn't around, but Tsume...

"You should be more observant," the Inuzuka said, jumping down from the countertop.

" _AH!"_ Hana shrieked before covering her mouth with her hand. Kuromaru snorted as she fell to her knees. Damn her and her sneaking around. "I wasn't... prepared..." she said, clutching her heart and sinking to the ground.

"I should say so," Tsume muttered, stretching out her legs. Why was she up there in the first place? Why didn't Kuromaru warn her that Tsume was sitting there like a _vulture_? She could have died—

Ah. Right, that was the lesson. Tsume was trying to hone her skills. Hana felt her face heat up as she got back to her feet. "I should've been more aware of my surroundings."

"You got it kiddo." Tsume ruffled the top of Hana's head and reached over her to open up the fridge. "Do you have any idea what Hasuki's making tonight? God I hope he stops cooking with those green things."

"You mean vegetables?"

Tsume wrinkled her nose. "Yeah, they're the worst."

So, teaching and being a good role model was still a thing Tsume was working on. Hana watched her with an unimpressed stare for a while until tsume pulled out some sort of energy drink and shut the door behind her. "I wanted to talk to you about something, actually."

Tsume raised an eyebrow. "Did you now?"

Hana nodded. "I want to start learning some clan techniques soon! maybe some better taijutsu before I start school." She clasped her hands in front of her chest. "I've got the academy stances down, but I want to get better; stronger, like you said."

Her mother popped the tab of her energy drink and took a sip. "I mean, what sort of moves are you thinking?"

"Like super cool badass power moves! That would be so cool!" Hana gushed. "Could you teach me fang over fang? Or like, a full body beat transformation! It's better to learn sooner rather than later, right? I can handle it!"

Tsume seemed to consider it for less than a second. "Yeah, not gunna happen. Sorry kid."

"I waited years for you to come baaaack," Hana whined. "Hasukī is useless when it comes to teaching. You're the _only one_ I can turn to for training advice."

"Well, that might be true," Tsume said, ego stoked. "But that still doesn't change the fact that you're still too young. Wait a little longer, and I might consider teaching you early. There's just no way I can teach you advanced clan techniques so young, you just don't have the chakra for it."

Hana hung her head in shame, cursing her tiny body. "But I want to be _awesome_ …"

"Hey, I think you're pretty awesome already." Tsume took another sip from her drink, thinking. "I mean, if you really want... there is one thing I can think of that might help you on your way to badassery."

"There is?!" Heart in her throat, Hana tried not to look to hopeful. Knowing Tsume, it was probably just another 30 laps around the clan compound. "What is it?"

Something flashed in Tsume's eyes- something _malevolent,_ maybe; it was covered up too quickly to tell by a big, toothy grin on her face. "You're going to love it."

"...Am I really?"

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"You stole some of my _clothes?_ " Hana hissed, watching Tsume hand them over to an unknown Inuzuka. "My sweater, my _shirts…?_ "

"Trust me on this," Tsume answered, following the young woman behind the counter and into a back room.

Hana shot Kuromaru a look before following after her, wondering if learning clan techniques were really worth it after all. She narrowed her eyes as her thoughts caught up to what Tsume had said. "This is so sketchy _._ "

"Have a little faith in your old lady," Tsume's voice answered, while Hana scrambled after her. With every twist and turn inside the building—made much more difficult with all the clutter—Hana was left chasing after her mother's chakra signature. Or, well, Kuromaru's, since Tsume actually kept hers hidden all the time. Hana couldn't get a lock on her; not even her scent. Which was frustrating, because _everything_ had a scent and Hana had gotten rather attached to her new sniffing abilities. It was like the best skill she had, and Tsume somehow managed to outdo it.

Tsume absolutely had to teach her that someday. That, or hana would have to figure it out herself. How did she manage to scrub away the smell of dog? It was practically burned into Hana's DNA at this point—

"Don't get distracted, pup," Kuromaru barked, getting her attention once more. "This way."

Tsume lead them into a large back room, filled with kennels and the sounds of excited barking. The whole room was cement and cold tile, long with many iron linked fences keeping different breeds of many shapes and sizes. She could recognize a lot of the smaller breeds as they walked past, but even some of the larger dogs looked closer to wolves in Hana's opinion, towering over her on the other side of their fenced kennels.

There were a couple tired looking Inuzuka scurrying around tending to the place while the two of them looked at all the different kind of dogs—eventually one of the older vets came over to speak with them. "Tsume-sama, it's a great honor to have you here so soon. We spoke on the phone, kennel thirteen is just over here."

Tsume nodded, thankful. "I hope the mother is doing well?"

"Well, better than the last couple days. It's always a shame when some of the litter doesn't survival, but in this case, three of the remaining young are still doing strong." The young woman sighed. "I'm not quite sure it'd be wise to separate them. They seem rather attached to each other… It's understandable, since they had several other siblings before… well..."

They neared the thirteenth kennel, and Hana peered through the metal fence at the four furry shapes inside. The largest, the mother, a great mass of white and brown fur was curled on her side around three tiny mounds of white fuzz. Each of the puppies had their own set of button eyes, and they wiggled around on the floor, noses bumping into each other and everything else as they helplessly tried to explore outside their mother's reach.

One of them stretched and opened its mouth, making a tiny, _adorable_ howl before flopping back onto his brothers.

Hana felt her heart _weep_. "I _love them_. Can i have them all? That way they won't have to be split up."

Tsume considered it, and looked at the vet. "Could we?"

The woman pursed her lips. "I mean, you are clan head. It's up to you."

"Three is a _lot_ of responsibility," Tsume warned, looking back down at her daughter.

One of the puppies made a soft whuff, rolling onto his back. Hana's head snapped back to Tsume. "I would absolutely _die_ for them. Give me the responsibility, I can _handle it._ "

Tsume's eyes glanced back and forth between her kid and the dogs in the kennel. "I mean… It's not the traditional way of doing things, but… they could keep you safe if anything happened. In a couple years, they could be a real asset."

"Does that mean I can take them home?!" Hana asked excitedly.

"They still need their mother, but you can visit them for the next couple weeks until they get old enough," smiled the vet, who took out a keychain and moved to unlock the kennel door. "I'll let you go in and introduce yourself first. Your mother brought bedding for them to get used to your scent, but its good for them to know you by touch as well."

Hana immediately scurried into the kennel and approached the puppies. Watching from the door, Tsume let out a laugh and watched Hana pat the mother and her pups at the same time, a head-splitting smile stretched out on her face. "Think of any names yet?"

Hana chewed her lip, glancing between Tsume and the three grey puppies that would be her partners for life. She already knew their names.

" _The Haimaru brothers._ "

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"You're the biggest, you'll be Sekimaru."

Hana pointed to the fluffiest dog on her bed, currently sniffing around, his dark eyes interested in her paw-print sheets. She turned to the dog next to him.

"You'll be Misuto." The dog blinked at her, listening to her speak. "I mean technically I could call you Misutomaru, but Tsume said the maru add-on is for the oldest and you're all triplets…"

The tiny puppy yipped at her.

"You could be a couple seconds older for all I know, but Misutomaru is a mouthful, soooo…Misuto it is."

She turned to the third puppy, belly up and drooling a small puddle on her sheets.

She sighed. "You can be… Kemuri?"

The youngest dog responded by rolling and falling off her bed.

"Incredible. I love that drive. _I love you all so much._ "

It was about six and a half _weeks_ before Hana could take the Haimaru brothers home. The whole time she was left juggling training and visiting them, and it completely screwed up her sleeping schedule. Before she was managing a solid nine hours of sleep- a good amount for a growing kid, and a tough sacrifice to make considering the fact that she used to sleep twelve hours a day in her past life. With chakra involved, she wasn't sleepy all the time. Hell, focusing her chakra and giving herself a little boost _made up_ for the lost sleep. She could probably go for _days_ if she really focused and set her mind to it, but _now?_ She was managing five and a half hours of sleep, taijutsu practice, studying, Kanji, mediation and _now_ that involved running to the kennels at breakneck speeds _just_ to squeeze in two hours of puppy play.

She was _more_ than happy when she was finally able to take them home with her. But with that, came new challenges. One thing she had learned dog sitting back in her previous life was that puppies were needy. Like, _really_ needy; they needed attention _all_ the damn time. It was adorable, and as much as Hana loved it, she could really go for like, two minutes of peace without hearing high-pitched whines and the sounds of puppies tearing apart her room in panic.

 _Two minutes_ , that's all she needed. A quick trip to the bathroom shouldn't be so _difficult_.

Speaking of which, the Haimaru Brothers weren't potty trained at ALL. She had once wondered why all the rooms in her house had hardwood and tile, and, well... now she _knew_. There was no saving carpet from puppy puke, and the clothes that fell victim to her ninken had to be _burned_.

It was a sad goodbye; she said a few sweet words to her bright green tank top and maybe shed a big fat tear as it went up in flames.

It wasn't their fault. The Haimaru brothers were still babies, despite being old enough to be separated from their mother, they were still _incredibly_ needy and wanting of affection. Eight week old puppies were _so_ helpless too: after a week of picking up after them and sacrificing _all_ of her time, energy _and_ extra clothing for beds and chew-toys, she had thrown up her hands and put them in _diapers._ Which they hated with a burning passion, obviously.

Honestly, it wasn't that bad. Besides losing their dignity, all Hana had to worry about was puppy puke now. No mess, no marking their territory on her bedroom wall, just a couple minutes of diaper changing. It was easy, and the perfect solution. The brothers hopped right out, happy to be free of their cloth wrappings. The problem was getting them back _in_ , but after a deadly glare from Kuromaru and some _mild_ killing intent from Tsume, they were more than ready to participate willingly.

They were pretty sweet most of the time actually. It'd be a lie if she said she wasn't about to burst into tears every five minutes- honestly, getting three PUPPIES to call partners for life was the opposite of a problem. She just wanted to complain when she was cleaning up after them, _Misuto,_ _Sekimaru_ , and _Kemuri_ were angels and probably the greatest thing that ever happened to her.

Admittedly, she had struggled with the names at first. Sure, she could have called them Hai, Ma, and Ru, but like, where was the individuality in that? It had taken her some time to come up with something interesting, coming up with good names didn't really run in the family. Her name meant _nose_ , for God's sake. Sure, you could take it as flower, but Hana knew the real story. Kuromaru has told her _all_ the details about the day she was born- two epidurals and an _entire_ delivery room filled with ANBU interrupting a baby being born _did things_ to a woman. She was lucky she wasn't named coffee, or eight pounds, four ounces, or _Midnight Chardonnay._ Hell, maybe being called Hana wasn't so bad after all. Tsume had a _stellar_ sense of naming. Thank god her name had two different meanings.

In the morning, one of the Haimaru brothers shifted in his sleep, nestling deeper into the crook of her arm. It was early, probably, she didn't quite know. She had barely slept, too afraid to fall asleep and accidentally roll into them. They couldn't rest without having someone bigger to cuddle next to—probably missing their mother still. She didn't mind much, it just made sleeping more difficult. She had tried counting sheep, slowing her breathing, even coming up with stories in her head to let her mind wander, and only _then_ was she _finally_ was able to drift onto something resembling sleep.

Calm, blissful _sleep_.

A wet nose pressed up against her cheek.

She cracked open an eye, daring Kuromaru to tell her why, just _why_ , he decided to wake her up at—

She looked at her bedside clock, reading an _offensive_ 7:35 am. _Disgusting._

"Why... are you _doing this to me_?" she whined, pulling her pillows closer to her chest.

"Tsume told me to wake you up. She said you have to go to the academy today," Kuromaru said in his deep husky voice. She'd probably never get used to that.

"What, isn't she here then?" Hana mumbled, burying her face deeper into puppy fur.

"She said she had a mission," the canine huffed, breathing hot air all over her. "She left a clone behind to watch the puppies, and _I_ am here to take you to school."

"Right," she said, pulling herself to a sitting position. "Was it a really important one?"

"She left a clone to watch the pups," Kuromaru replied, avoiding the question. He always did that when she asked about missions. Didn't stop her from trying though. "It will follow your instructions, as long as they aren't complicated," he explained, nudging her out of bed. "I will take you to school."

"Whoa, really?" she asked dubiously, glancing at the clock again. "How much time do we have to get there?"

"Under half an hour."

"Why didn't you wake me up earlier?!" she screeched, diving out of bed and ignoring the three shrill whines behind her. "School is across town, I'll never make it in time!"

She sped across her room at lightning speed, stopping only when her shirt was halfway off, her mind whirring. "I'll need to pack a lunch—what if I need to take _notes?_ Do I have a backpack? How fast does it take to run there?"

"I will carry you," Kuromaru said patiently, turning his attention to the squirming puppies in her bed.

"I—wait, what?" she said, blinking at the wolf. "Will we even get there before class starts?"

"If you gather your things and get dressed in time, yes," the canine replied, sending one of the Haimaru brothers a look to keep him in bed.

"Right," she nodded, stumbling through the rest of her room to get dressed.

She practically had to pull apart her room to find something clean and free of dog hair. Eventually, she just had to settle on a pair of shorts and a black t-shirt. Nothing fancy, but it was all she had. She pulled her long brown hair into a ponytail, wrestling with the few stray hairs that refused to stay down, before giving up entirely and heading to the bathroom. She washed her face, brushed her teeth, and spent a few good minutes she probably couldn't afford, being distracted by her reflection in the mirror.

Hana never did get used to the facial tattoos.

She wondered what sort of impression she would make on her first day. It wasn't _weird_ to have giant red fangs on your face in this world, but in _hers,_ it wasn't everyday a child showed up with a face full of ink. It certainly made it easy to find out where she was from—even _if_ the Inuzuka clan was known well enough anyway. If she covered up her tattoos, she'd probably still smell like dog. It was part of the package deal.

Sighing, she left her toothbrush by the sink and turned off the water.

When Hana stopped ogling at her facial tattoos, she briefly looked into her reflection's _eyes_. She fit into this world, she looked the part. Five years of existing at home and avoiding people her own age would have to come to an end anyway… but god, she felt like some sort of body snatcher. Would she be intruding at a school? Would she even fit in? She'd never be the real daughter of Tsume Inuzuka and Tatsuo Shibata, not by a long shot. That being said, she couldn't ever live like her anyway. The world was too dangerous for someone like her running around, she couldn't hide away and be some demure teenage girl for her entire life, she had to learn how to protect herself.

The tattoos were a blessing in disguise, really. They were the only real striking thing about her, and they drew attention away from the way she handled herself, her expressions. The maturity could be waved off as just another quirk of her clan. She desperately hoped the kids at the academy wouldn't notice, but then again, children could be quite perceptive. Hana would have to act her best for their parents and not let her guard drop until she got home.

Stepping out of the bathroom, Hana shot her ninken a final warning glace, since she knew they'd probably mess the whole place up while she was away, and then shut her bedroom door behind her. She made it five steps when she heard scrambling and they went at it, but she was too distracted by the clone standing in the kitchen for her to do anything.

"Ah… That is... creepy as hell."

Tsume's clone was exactly how her mother _would've_ looked, but the bland, lifeless look on her face said otherwise. That, and the scrawled ink on her forehead reading 'Tsume #2' which... was a bit off-putting. The stranger gave her some room, shooting her an apologetic smile. It was _eerie_.

She would've thought it was the real deal if clone-mom wasn't so... strange? There was something off about her, Hana couldn't quite put her finger on it. She looked the same, _moved_ the same, when she stepped back to give her some space.

"Sorry, _Hana-chan_ ," the clone said. Warning bells went off in her head at the _unnecessary_ honorific. There was still something else though, _something.._...

Hana crept closer, grabbing the clone's sleeve and sniffing it slightly. _Ah, that was it.  
_  
"Correct!" Tsume-clone praised. "As a shadow clone, I have no discernible scent. A tactic you may use to work through illusions once you begin studying them." She smiled slightly, holding out a little paper bag. "Good luck at school."

Hana blinked at her, processing all those big words and how they could have _possibly_ come from Tsume's mouth. "Thanks—oh and uh, about the puppies…?"

"Tell me what to do, and I'll do the rest," the clone said, smiling placidly. A shiver ran up Hana's spine. Why couldn't Tatsuo be around to look after her dogs instead? What did he even do all day?

Hana rattled off a list of chores and when the Haimaru brothers needed to be fed—giving her a warning ahead of time that they didn't like sleeping without hearing some sort or heartbeat or breathing, and that they couldn't be let into her closet because that was where she hid their dog food. And her clothes. She really, really did not want to have another shirt burning funeral.

She made it just out the door, a bag slung over her shoulder, her new ninja sandals on her feet when Kuromaru blocked her path.

"Ywou nhwee awh jahwet," he said, cloth stuck between his teeth.

"Uh, what?"

"Jacket." He said again, dropping the coat into her arms. "This is non-negotiable."

"It's not going to be _cold,_ " she whined, taking the heavy grey coat from him anyway. She rolled her eyes as she looked at the fluffy, _totally typical_ Inuzuka sweater. Did she honestly need to wear _fur_ in the _spring? Ugh._ She'd be a fashion disaster. _  
_  
He shook his head. "I'm not taking you to school un-equipped."

"You make it sound like i'm going off to battle," she groaned, dropping her pack and slipping it on.

It fit rather well, actually. She could do without the hood and fur on the ends of the sleeves, but rolling the ends up, it wasn't _half_ bad. She slipped her bag back on and made a few more steps from her house when she realized it was actually _Kiba's_ coat from the beginning of the series.

"Oh _man_ ," she sighed, trying to force down a peal of laughter. "You've _got_ to be _kidding_ me."

"Are you ready to go?" Kuromaru asked, lowering himself down at her side. "Grip your arms tightly around my neck. Don't let go until I say so."

She pursed her lips, cautious at first, to put her full weight on him, but eventually crawled onto his back. _Man_ —he was massive. And she wasn't just saying that because she was a five year old kid, Kuromaru was actually _giant_. Like, bigger than a mastiff, and three times as furry; she doubted _normal wolves_ even got that big.

It also occurred to her that he was meant for combat and was probably really, _really_ fast. Like, fast enough to get get to school on time with her clamping her arms around his neck.

"Are you ready?" The canine asked one final time, lifting himself off the ground. She could feel his muscles tense underneath her, preparing to spring at a moment's notice.

"I'm ready," she nodded, burying her face into his coat.

Kuromaru took a deep breath. "Hold on tight pup, this'll be fast."

And then the world became a blur.

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	8. Chapter 8 - Introductions and Panic

**AN:** Thanks to everyone who's been reviewing! Every time i'm feeling stressed over classes, i go and check what people think of the latest chapter. It really makes my day, and i treasure every review, follow and favourite. Thank you so much! And thanks for reading! Have another chapter for being so awesome XOXO

 **Edit April/30/2018** ᕕ(ᐛ)ᕗ

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 **Chapter 8 - Introductions And Panic**

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* * *

The wind whistled past them as Kuromaru sped across Konoha in a few short minutes. At first, they stuck to the roads, weaving between alarmed civilians, but soon enough the streets became too crowded and her mother's ninken took to the rooftops. It was a relatively warm morning, but the speed in which Kuromaru was going at left Hana's hands raw and cold. She'd have to come up with a better outfit if she stuck with this ninja business- shorts and a t-shirt just wouldn't cut it later on. She was glad Kuromaru got her a jacket.

(even if it _was_ kiba's)

After a few minutes of jamming her head into Kuromaru's shoulder blades and choking on his fur as it got into her mouth, she popped her head up for a breath of air. A bad idea, honestly, because of how _fast_ they were going.

She ducked her face down again, squeezing her eyes shut and trying to get over the sensation of being _slapped in the face_ by the wind. _God_ \- even her eyes stung after that. _At least,_ she thought dryly, _she didn't swallow anything._ Imagine how terrible that would've been- swallowing a bug in a village where the _aburame clan_ existed.

She shuddered, linking her arms tighter around Kuromaru.

Hopefully she wouldn't get the chance to get _intimate_ with an aburame. Bugs were cool in her book, but having beetles living inside her? No, nope, not going to happen. There was a difference between liking a thing, and letting it live inside you. _Man_ , was she lucky she was born as an Inuzuka. She'd take puppy problems and dog hair sticking to her clothes any day. Which reminded her...

"I'm wearing _blaaaaaaaack,_ " she whined, causing the ninken carrying her to tense. "I'll never get the hair out in time to make a good impression..."

"Child, you could have thought of that before we took to the rooftops," Kuromaru huffed, slowing down finally, "in any case, we're here now."

She risked another peek above his fur, relaxing when she didn't get stung by the wind. The top of the academy poked up above the rest of the rooftops, right next to the hokage building. Kuromaru lept gracefully down, pushing off the side of a tree with his hind legs, and using some sort of chakra manipulation to negate the fall- Hana barely felt any impact.

The front of the school was crowded with parents and children alike. Some of them with blonde hair, like the yamanaka family she spotted, or others with strange colours. Nothing _fruity_ , like _cherry blossom pink_ , but her eyes did linger on a few kids with deep purple or raven coloured hair. It wasn't _anything_ like the natural browns the Inuzuka clan sported- but then again, Hana really hadn't met many people outside her immediate family.

And besides, her clan made up for their boring hair colour with their heightened senses, ferocity, and _dogs_. So many things could be solved with dogs.

She slid off Kuromaru's back with relative ease, holding onto him for a few more seconds as her legs got use to standing on their own.

"Tsume will pick you up after class," the ninken explained, "she wanted to be here when you started school, but, _well_..."

"She got a mission, it's okay." Hana sighed, trying not to think about how Tsume had distanced herself more and more since the war ended. She _expected_ this sort of behavior out of her biological father, but _Tsume?_ It made her worry. "I just don't like her being back in action so _early-_ you'll make sure she doesn't get hurt, right?"

The canine nodded thoughtfully. "I will." He hummed. "As long as you promise to do the same, you've always been _mature_ for your age, but other children may not see that. Don't let them get to you."

Hana tried not to look too guilty, the fact that kuromaru had no idea who she really was, stung a bit. She didn't like keeping secrets from people she cared about. She dropped her hand to her side and looked out at the crowd of people by the gate. The ninken gave her back a little nudge with his head, to give her confidence, before taking off to wherever Tsume was, probably.

The Konoha academy was smaller than she had thought it would be. Sure, she had seen the building in passing, the few times she left the clan grounds, but she hadn't gotten close enough to notice just how _adorably_ small it was. Along the fence lining the area were cute yellow flowers, and inside, there was a big grassy field for kids to play in, right next to a tiny, _cute_ forest. It reminded Hana a lot of her elementary school in her past life- minus the jungle gym and giant yellow slides. Kids were supposed to play ninja here, right? She doubted slides would help their espionage skills. It was a real shame. Instead, they had target dummies and climbing walls. Practical things- the sort of playground equipment that taught wannabe ninjas skills for later on in their careers. Everything had a purpose in the playground, and from hana's point of view, it made recess look less and less appealing. Why did everything in this world have to do with ninjas? Why couldnt kids just have fun for the hell of it?

 _Ugh_. It really grinded Hana's gears.

Kids were milling around outside the building, some with parents, some without. Eventually, a young woman in a skirt and _senbon_ tucked in her bun ushered the inside, giving all the kids pieces of paper.

"Good to see so many students ready to start at the academy! You can call me Nomura-sensei, and I'm one of the teacher's aides here." She said, smiling sweetly at them all. " I hope we can all get to know one another when school officially starts- but _before_ any of you are placed in a class, there's an entrance examination you'll need to fill out."

Several people next to Hana groaned, and she couldn't help but agree. _An exam? On the first day of school? Disgusting._

"I know, I know," she sighed, waving a hand for them to quiet down. "But entrance exams are required for _all_ civilian-born shinobi, and _younger_ students wishing to graduate early. The test won't be difficult, but it's a way for me to gauge how far along you are."

"Clan kids don't have to take the test? _That's so unfair._ " Huffed a boy next to Hana, with grey-brown hair and olive, tan skin.

Nomura-sensei blinked at him, before looking down at the clipboard in her hands. " _Tenma-san?_ You're already in one of my classes, what are _you_ doing here?"

" _I told you_ that you didn't _need_ to come," the girl next to him whispered, nudging him in the ribs. She had two long braids on either side of her head, and a certain lilt to her voice— _an accent from another country maybe? Cool_. "Now people are gunna think I need you to hold my hand..."

"Do you _want_ me to hold your hand, _Shinko-chan_?" Tenma smiled, innocently raising an eyebrow at her.

She made a face at him. "No way! I can take the exam _myself_ , thank you!"

Nomura-sensei coughed. "Tenma-san, I understand your _loyalty_ to your friend, but if you aren't here to take the exam, you should wait outside."

He looked between his friend and the door. "B-but…" He sighed. "If you _say_ so, Sensei..." He shot Shinko a look. "I'll be _right_ out there—"

"Okay! Fine, _sheesh_ ," she whined, covering her face with her hands. "You're so _embarrassing_ sometimes… _Ugh_." She stuck her tongue out at him as Nomura-sensei ushered him out the door.

"Okay!" the teacher beamed as she shoved tenma outside, despite his protests. "Now, first, your _written_ test! Don't worry, there's more after that too,"

The class, Hana included this time, _groaned._

* * *

ᛜ

* * *

Hana managed to breeze through the written test, which covered everything between math and geometry, to Konoha politics and history. She was a little fuzzy on some of the written questions, because some were written in _haringa,_ but she pushed through and managed to finish her test and hand it in early, _right_ after another kid her age.

It was funny, because she didn't even _see_ him when they entered the class, but she didn't pay it much mind as she went back to her desk. Nomura-sensei seemed quite pleased with the two of them as she graded their papers, humming as she marked them in bright purple ink.

Shinko, or whatever her name was, from before, had ended up sitting next to Hana when they all sat down. After her friend left, she hardly said a word, other than to thank the teacher in her accented voice, and to ask to work next to her. She acted like Hana would bite her or something when she approached her, it was a pretty strange shift from the girl she had overhead before.

Some of the other kids seemed to give her a wide berth as they chose their seats, however. She _obviously_ wasn't from konoha, and had features that reminded her of.. _Temari_ maybe? Tan skin, light hair… was She from the Land of _Wind_? No wonder the students took a disliking to her. The war had only gotten out a couple months ago, and Sauna had been… well, not the nicest opponents ever. Sasori of the Red Sand had made his debut just a little while ago, it made sense that people were wary of Shinko. A girl from the Crazy killer puppet country? _Creepy._

Hana sighed. She'd probably avoid a whole lot of drama by Ignoring what was was going on here. She wanted a calm, peaceful year or two, before graduation. Shinko and Tenma brought _drama_ , and she really didn't need that now. Sure, she didn't _know_ anybody, but she wasn't keen on making friends. Everyone was just… _so_ _young_ , and uneducated, and just… _. Ugh._ Hana really _wasn't_ good with kids. She didn't have the energy for it, and she _didn't_ want to hang around a bunch of prepubescent babies. She was so, _so_ grateful that Tsume hadn't forced her into playdates, or took her to the park to socialize with kids her _own_ age, because she stuck out like a sore thumb.

She stuck out a lot in class too, she found out, when they took the second portion of the exam _outside._ Nomura-sensei had them running laps around the building, and a minute after blowing the whistle, Hana was already pushing herself to the front of the pack. Her taijutsu training had paid off, and she was fit enough to speed up and show off a bit, making a fast pace at the front of the group. Shinko was near the end of the class, and only one other kid to keep Hana's pace was the same kid who had handed in his paper before her.

Obviously, she was interested in who they were; if they were just some kid, or another prodigy or something. She watched the out of the corner of her eye as the two of them made another lap, kicking up dirt and gravel as they jogged. Whoever they were, they wore _all_ black, with a high collar. Hana would've rolled her eyes at their choice in fashion, but she had to remind herself that she was _also_ wearing black, with fur, and couldn't complain. Still, the kid (boy maybe? It was hard to tell, they had _really_ long eyelashes, and a smooth, pretty face) was _fast_. Fast enough to keep Hana following right after them, almost on their heels, as they finished their final lap. Hana bent over panting once Nomura-sensei told them to stop. Her face was wet and clammy, and she noticed that the kid (a boy, right? Was _he_ a boy? They were the prettiest _maybe_ -boy ever, regardless.) was _barely_ even breathing heavy.

The same sort of thing happened when the class moved onto throwing knives. Nomura-sensei passed out handfuls of shuriken, warning everyone not to cut themselves or steal anything, before letting them just go wild on the targets set up before them. After weeks of improving her aim, she did relatively well, hitting the second inner ring most of the time. The other kid though, calmly took aim and hit the centre every _damn_ time, causing Nomura-sensei (and some of the other kids in the class) to clap in amazement. Hana had _no idea_ how they did it, or how long they must've practiced to get _that_ good when they were the same age as her, but she _had_ to admit it was impressive.

They moved onto taijutsu spars, and Hana was paired up with Shinko, who barely even knew how to throw a punch, let alone fight. Their match ended relatively quickly, and Hana apologized profusely when she noticed that Shinko's eyes were watering, as giant red bruises formed on the older girls arms. The other kid was already _done_ their match by the time Hana finished, and it was _then_ she started getting suspicious. Nobody was _that_ good at _everything_ , especially at 5 years old. Something was up, and she decided to approach them at lunchtime, when Nomura-sensei decided to give them all a break.

The kid was sitting alone under the shade of a tree, eyes fixed watching the other kids as they grouped together in little cliques, or played amidst the forest. Eventually, they turned their dark eyes on Hana as she drew nearer, and she had to repress a shudder at how _intelligent_ they looked. It was like staring into a mirror, there was a _wisdom_ there, despite their age, hidden in their eyes. It was beautiful, and at the same time, deeply chilling. It was the same sight she saw in her own reflection.

(A tiny part of her wondered if this kid was like her _. An adult piloting a child's body_. Someone who didn't belong.)

"You did really well during the exam," Hana said as an opening, shoving her hands into her pockets.

"So did you," they said, blinking their big doe eyes at her. "I saw your match with the girl from Sunagakure, was she alright?"

Hana ducked her head. "Uh, yeah, I just hit her too hard, I guess. I haven't had anyone to practice on besides training dummies."

"Hn," they said, their eyes wandering towards the playground once again like their conversation was officially over. Hana tried not to let it get to her, or look annoyed- was she _boring_ them? Or did this kid just not have any social skills? She opted for the latter one, because otherwise…she would have to fight them.

"My name is _Hana_ ," she said with forced cheerfulness, sticking out her hand. "I hope we're in the same class together."

The kid tore their eyes away from the kids, giving her a dark, blank stare. "The teacher's calling everyone in now."

" _Right_ ," Hana said, taking her hand back and shoving it into her pocket. " _Okay_. We should get going—"

But the kid was already brushing past her towards the school, leaving her in the dust.

 _This is why she didn't like kids_ , she thought, forcing down an irritated cry. _She had no idea where she stood with_ any _of them._

 _One more try_ , she decided, jogging after the kid. She'd give socializing one more try, before giving up completely. It was worth that, at least, right? If they were in the same class together, and ended up competing, she wanted to at least _know their name_.

(And if she knew their name, maybe she could try to find out if they were different too. Maybe then she wouldn't be so alone after all.)

She slid up to their desk, by the windows in the classroom, and tried again. "We're the same age, right? That's so cool. Do you come from a clan as well?"

"Yes," came their only response, as Nomura-sensei started calling a final attendance.

 _W_ as this just a kid thing, or was this punk a special case? Hana's eyebrow involuntarily twitched, and she fought to keep her composure.

"Is it a _shinobi_ clan? Maybe I've heard of it," Hana prompted, hoping, praying for some kind of opening. God, this kid was a _brick wall_.

" _Hana Inuzuka?_ " The teacher called, looking up from her clipboard.

She tore her attention away from the kid. "Yes, sensei?"

"You'll be out into class _seven_." She said, giving her an appraising look. "You scored high enough in each test, so you'll have the possibility to graduate within the next year if your grades are exemplary, but beyond that, you'll be allowed to work at a higher level until the teachers feel you're prepared enough for genin. Do you understand?"

" _Yes_ ," Hana grinned. This was _exactly_ what she wanted. Early graduation meant she could become a shinobi _years_ ahead of schedule. It meant getting experience earlier, and being treated as an _adult_ as soon as she graduated. This was everything she wanted, _just as planned_.

"Itachi Uchiha?" The teacher said, pointedly looking at the kid Hana had _just_ been talking to. "You'll _also_ be in class seven, with the same set of circumstances. Shinko Inari, Umeno Issin, and Kiri, you'll be in the same class as well. Now, if you'll collect these forms…"

"Wait…. What? Hana turned her head towards the kid next to her. "What did she say?"

"My name," They said, blinking their big doe eyes at her again. "We're in the same class together."

The actual….

 _Clan killing_ …

Itachi uchiha.

In her _class_. Interacting with her. _Speaking_ to her.

 _Oh._ That… was not according to plan.

Hana felt as though someone poured ice-water down her back. He was real—he was _next to her_. He knew her name. _He was in her class_.

He was going to _massacre_ the entire uchiha clan.

 _This had to be some sort of joke_.

* * *

ᛜ

* * *

Everyone had been ushered into their new classes and introduced to their new classmates. Shinko waved to Tenma, sitting in the middle bly the windows, while the rest of them stood and waited for their turn. Everyone was asked their likes, dislikes, and what they wanted to be when they grew up before taking a spot in the classroom. It was a game, it was supposed to be _fun,_ and to let everyone get to know eachother better, but Hana really couldn't have been bothered. Her mind had gone completely blank, void of anything, other than one, recurring thought: _Danger._

 _She was in danger._ Itachi, this village… _She wasn't safe_. She didn't know what to do, but she had to get out.

And she was _so goddamn stupid_ for thinking she could just get by without meeting anyone important. How long did she think she could live in this world without running into one of its _main_ characters? Tsume and Kuromaru didn't count. They were real, _living things_ that had taken care of her since since her new life began. They were fine, they were _safe._ Itachi uchiha was in her graduating class. He was the exact _opposite_ of safe.

His _story_ was carved in blood and _betrayal_ —the fact that he was in the same room as her, as a _child_ , made her want to _scream_. She had spent five and a half _years_ trying to live in a bubble, protecting herself from the outside world so that she didn't have to deal with this _exact_ situation. Meeting someone _who she knew_ , was going to die. Who she _knew_ , was going to be an enemy.

 _What was she supposed to do?_

Other than block out the _hysterical screaming_ in her head, she was too shaken up to do anything other than _stare_ at Itachi across the room. He didn't seem particularly bothered about it, actually. He sat right below Tenma, staring out the window with dull, tired eyes. Like anything going on in class wasn't _interesting_ enough. Like a main goddamn anime character would.

 _Shit._

He was a dead man, Hana reminded herself. _A dead man walking_. He was going to commit horrible, terrible things, and die a _pariah_. How many years until the massacre? Seven? Hana shuddered. It was too soon _. What a horrific waste of human life._

Class ended sometime later that day. The teacher, the real one, (Nomura-sensei was just an aid) handed out a class syllabus and drilled them on what they had missed, before dismissing them all. Hana didn't have anyone to walk with as she went outside, her mind still fixated on the classroom. _Itachi uchiha_ , she thought, leaving the building in a haze. _She was in a class with Itachi Uchiha._

Maybe when Tsume picked her up, she could take a break from training and just sleep for 30 years. Maybe she could just skip all the drama in her life by sleeping through it. Maybe she could just. Never leave her house _. Ever._

Her eyes scanned the crowd outside, skipping over the adults and siblings picking up the new students. She recognized the _Uchiha_ fan on one pair—one raven haired boy being picked up by his father. Itachi's father made brief eye contact with her, and she dimly realized he had the power to _kill her_ with _that_ alone. That staring probably wasn't the best course of action.

' _Genjutsu me, I dare you.'_

 __Hasukī walked up to her, and Hana was too drained to even feel disappointment for her mother not showing up when she _said_ she would. It was one thing or another, they were best buds until suddenly they weren't. It was so much—Hana didn't know what to expect.

 _She just wanted to go to sleep for a hundred years,_ she thought. How much would people judge her if she curled up on a bench or something? Would Hasuki carry her home? Tsume obviously wouldn't.

"Tsume-sama is still out working…." Hasuki said, giving Hana an apologetic smile. "Sorry I couldn't get her here—how was school though? I heard Kuromaru _carried_ you here on his _back_."

Hana shrugged, heading off in the direction of home.

Hasukī blinked. "it wasn't _bad_ , was it?" He asked, following after her. "Was it the teacher? Or a classmate? I heard you got into an older group, if there's a problem—"

"It's fine," Hana murmured, shoving her hands in her pockets. "I just wanna go _home_."

"Hey, now..." The Inuzuka said, slowing her down. " I thought you were _excited_ to go to school."

"I was."

Before school meant interacting with _Itachi Uchiha_. _Ugh_. She didn't want to go back. She didn't want to sit in a class with him for half a year. She didn't know what to _do_ —approach him? Fight him? Make sure he never joined ANBU and come in contact with Danzo? She didn't know! She hadn't prepared herself for this!

"Oh, um," Hasukī said, letting Hanna pass by him again. "Well… If there's _anything going on_... I'm here for you if you need me."

Hana sighed. She couldn't exactly tell him the truth. She couldn't tell _anyone_ the truth—knowing the future really _sucked_ sometimes. The only thing she could do was sulk and try not to let anyone know how much she really, really didn't want to spend time with the other prodigy in class. And it wasn't because he was better than her at like, everything. "Let's just go home, okay?"

Hasukī nodded. "I'm sure the Haimaru brothers will be happy to see you."

"I hope so," she muttered, making her way towards the clan grounds. Because the _only_ way her day could get any worse, was if her own ninken weren't excited to see her. She shoved her hands deeper into her pockets, and lead the way home.

* * *

ᛜ


	9. Chapter 9 - Past and Present

_Sorry this chapter is kinda late- I had to finish my final semester at uni, and exams really kicked my ass. Here's a longer chapter to make up for it!_

* * *

 **Chapter 9 - Past and Present**

* * *

It was moments like this, that Hana had to remind herself how old she was.

Being six normally wasn't an achievement for some people, and yeah, that was true, six years of just being _alive_ wasn't much in the grand scheme of things, but it was more than that for Hana. She had survived in another world for six years now, learning another language, adapting to what life threw at her. Ninjas? Okay, sure. Talking dogs? Freaky, but kinda awesome after she got used to it.

She could adapt.

Itachi Uchiha being in her class was just another hurdle thrown her way- she had survived six years in another world, and she was intent on living another six more.

And, well _, then some_. She didn't want to die at twelve, after all.

So, instead of losing sleep thinking about the Uchiha Massacre, and what she would do to Danzo if she ever caught him, she read. She studied books, she read old scrolls, she even got Hasukī to take her to the Konoha library a couple times to find tomes on ancient pre-Warring States literature. She got really fixated on history, and by making it into an obsession, she was able to soothe her Itachi-anxiety.

The first thing she started reading up on was the previous hokage. Not because she wanted to _be_ one herself, or that she particularly loved how they handled Konoha (cough, Sandaime, cough) but because she had a real interest in their jutsu. Mainly because they had so dang many of them, and she _wanted_ them.

She wanted to make grand fireballs, shadow clones and be able to use Hiraishin. They sounded _so_ useful, but... she couldn't learn them. She didn't have a fire release, for the first one, (and wasn't related to an Uchiha, last time she checked.) and learning a technique like the Hiraishin required someone to actually be close to the creator, because it'd create a massive fucking stir if an Inuzuka just started running around with one of Konoha's revered jutsu. It was super disrespectful to the previous kages to use their techniques without permission, and the only reason Naruto managed to get away with learning the shadow clone technique as a genin, was because because of his dad, and the fact that Minato had been close to Tobirama, aka, the creator.

Or maybe he just asked one of Tobirama's apprentices nicely or something. Didn't Tobirama die at thirty or something? How did Minato get his hands on the flying thunder technique then? Whatever, if she ever was forced into a conversation with the guy, she'd ask him.

Besides reading history books for her own enjoyment, she also worked on trying to memorize the books her class were going to go through in a couple months. Currently, she had a copy of an old scroll in front of her- the text was about some poet who had ties to the old Fire Dynamo and almost started an uprising. It was edited so much that it was more fiction than fact, considering how many times the poet was referred to as 'villainous' 'bloodthirsty' and a 'fanatic' without… any real redeemable qualities. What made it even worse, was when Hana had gotten Hasuki to find examples of the poet's work, to double check the textbook, only to find that all of his poems had been about how poor and destitute the country had become under the Dynamo's reign.

It was a lie. Her textbook was shamelessly lying to her face, along will all the rest of her schoolmates. What made it worse, was that after a while, Hana started noticing how each story ended up the same way. The _'bad guys'_ were stopped, executed or imprisoned for the rest of their lives, and anyone else who tried to do the same was given the same treatment. The texts never questioned _why_ people decided to strike back against their country, or what sort of things lead up to it. It was kind of terrifying- their school textbooks were literally trying to brainwash her.

Thank god she had enough critical thinking skills not to get sucked in.

It got her thinking though- did Konoha even have a justice system? Did trials occur? As far she she knew, criminals all got the same punishment unless they were _worth_ imprisonment. If someone got fed up with their village and they left, they'd literally be marked for death. There wasn't ever the possibility of leaving- either you abided the law and kept your head down, accepting everything your ruler said, or you were traitorous scum, who deserved death as your only punishment.

Hana didn't even believe in the death penalty, but this? It was _barbaric_.

Human beings deserved more than a quick death and a shallow grave for their mistakes. Where was their justice? Their innocence until proven guilty?

 _What about the Uchiha clan? What about their justice? What about Itachi?_ A little voice in the back of her head asked, before Hana promptly shut it down. She didn't want to think about _Uchiha_ problems. Studying history was supposed to distract her from worrying about Itachi, not make her question her beliefs. Itachi killed his entire clan, including innocent children, regardless of his intention and Danzo's doing, there was a lot of blood on his hands, and Hana wanted no part in it.

But… where was _his_ innocence until proven guilty? He still hadn't _done_ anything.

But… he _would._ Unless Hana waved some sort of magic wand and fixed everything, the Uchiha massacre would have to happen, and Itachi would _have_ to kill everyone.

But he didn't know that. She was judging him for a crime he was _yet_ to commit.

And… he was just a _kid_ , after all.

Was she wrong? Would she be passing up an opportunity to grow stronger by keeping her distance?

Thinking about it gave her a headache.

Hana sighed, flipping her book closed. She had other things to worry about than future crimes and Itachi Uchiha. Tsume had asked her to come to a clan meeting in a little while, and Hana wanted to try and reconnect with her since she had gotten so distant.

Crawling out of bed, trying not to disturb her ninken, who were still fast asleep, Hana padded over to her closet. What was she supposed to wear for clan stuff? Her adopted family wasn't super formal, so it wasn't like she had to wear a kimono or a yukata, or whatever fancy dress wear in this world was called. She wasn't even sure if she HAD one to begin with- so many articles of clothing had been either torn to shreds by the Haimaru brothers, or tucked away so neatly they'd probably never see the light of day again. Maybe…. nah, she'd wear Kiba's sweater. Fur was like, a clan thing, and having an extra layer on would really help, considering how late in the night the stupid meeting was.

At nine o'clock, Hana made her way up to the official Inuzuka clan building with Hasuki by her side. He had been drilling her on everything she'd expect to hear in the meeting, but she had already forgotten most of it. Screw formality and rules! She was going to be on her best behaviour regardless of what Hasukī said, but she wasn't going to be someone's doorstep. She had been invited as Tsume's daughter, and heir. She needed to show a bit of spine if she wanted to be taken seriously, and as much as she appreciated Hasuki worrying over her, she knew she had to stand up for herself at some point.

"And when they call your name, you'll-"

Hana turned to face him, placing her tiny hand on his arm in an attempt to calm his nerves. "I'll be fine, you don't need to _worry_ so much."

Hasuki snorted, reaching over to smoothe out the creases in her sweater. "I always need to worry about you, Hana-chan. This meeting is a big deal, I want you to do your best."

She winked at him. "Don't I always do my best? I didn't get into the academy by lazing around."

"No, I suppose not," he said, giving her a dry smile. "Though, you do plenty of that when you get the chance. I don't get how you manage to read so much, considering how much you sleep all the time."

"Laziness dictates that I get everything done before I sleep, that way I don't have anything to worry about," she said sagely, nodding her head. Hasuki made an affirming noise to humour her. "Now, when I finish all my homework _forever,_ and don't have anything to do afterwards? That's when you can start worrying. I'd sleep for 30 years if I could."

Hasuki shook his head in exasperation, holding the large pine doors open for her. "Try to come back in one piece, okay? I don't know what you'll encounter in there, but our family… isn't the most… levelheaded…. at times." He scratched the back of his head, giving her an apologetic look. "If there isn't any blood on the floor when you get there, there's a pretty good chance it'll happen later. Just try not to get in the middle of it all if Tsume-sama and a man named _Gonza_ get in a fight. Because it _will_ happen, and it won't be pretty."

Hana raised an eyebrow. "Who?"

"He was the previous clan leader…?" Hasukī said carefully. "He and your mother have some.. history… It'd be best if you just try to stay low for this meeting."

"I'll try to keep that in mind," she snorted, filing the information away into the back of her head.

It was weird to imagine a _previous_ clan head before her mother, really. She hadn't left her house for the past six years of her life, and rarely met anyone else from her clan, besides the odd ninken summon. A whole meeting though, full of Inuzuka? It was both exciting, and a little daunting. Did all Inuzuka act the same? Did they all have alpha-dog, loud personalities?

She bid Hasuki goodbye, making her way inside. Having someone by her side, bringing her to the building had been great to keep her distracted, but now that she was finally alone…. Admittedly, she was a little nervous.

What if she wasn't anything like her new family? What if they figured out she was some sort of imposter?

As she made her way down the hallway that was designed to look much more traditional than her house, or the rest of the buildings the clan owned, Hana picked up on several chakra signatures ahead of her. She wasn't the best sensor yet, and she had to really focus on them, and squint her eyes like she was trying to look through the walls, but eventually, she could sorta feel seven or more people in the building with her. And they weren't exactly happy. With the amount of killing intent coming from the meeting room ahead of her, it seemed the action had already started. Fantastic.

She opened the double doors separating her from the rest of her clansmen, and immediately, was met with several shuriken flung right at her freaking _head_.

"Mother _Mary in heaven_ -!" she shrieked, ducking her head just in time. Hasuki was _wrong_ , nothing could prepare her for _this_.

"Oh, Hana, you made it!" Tsume grinned, currently holding another Inuzuka by the collar of his shirt, her fist about to strike. She shoved him away after a second thought, and kicked a chair up off the ground, before getting settled. "Good, now we can begin the meeting."

"You didn't begin already?" Hana asked, looking at the pure... chaos around her. Kunai and senbon were stuck in the walls, cups were smashed on the floor, people were pushed up against the walls or pinned under chairs. what the hell was this meeting supposed to be about exactly?

"The guys like to get a little riled up before talking about clan stuff," Tsume said, waving a dismissive hand in the air. "Its nothing to worry about-"

Hana gawked at her. "I almost got my head taken off!"

"That was me, sorry," said the man Tsume had previously been dangling above a table. He rubbed his neck, sending her an apologetic look. "If Kouroku," he glared at another Inuzuka, "hadn't moved when I threw it-"

The other man, a shinobi in his early twenties, scoffed, crossing his (impressively large) arms over his chest. "Dude, screw you, I wasn't about to jump on your shuriken just because the kid walked in. If she's here, it's because she can take this sort of stuff."

"Regardless," an authoritative, deep voice said behind Hana, making all the people in the room stay at attention. Tsume, however, remained impassive as ever. "You should respect your leader's heir. What if you had killed her, Ginta-san? She's an academy student, you shouldn't hold her to the same reckless standards that you hold for yourself."

Hana craned her neck just to get a look at who was talking, but Tsume sighing caught her attention first.

"Gonza, good of you to be fashionably late. Again. How's the wife?" she said, with poorly concealed distaste. Ah, so this was the guy Hasuki warned her about. Suddenly, the idea of the two of them clashing made sense. There was a lot of tension between the two of them. And the rest of the Inuzuka in the room. They all seemed pretty intent on following after gonza's every movement.

How long ago was he clan head? It felt like a lot of other guys in the room still held a lot of respect for him.

Gonza, who spoke in a deep, reverberating baritone, so deep Hana could feel it in her chest, scoffed. "She's been doing better since your last encounter, when you threatened her with a mace. Really, Tsume, the Hokage still wants to know where you got that."

She shrugged, gesturing for him to sit. "I borrowed it from a couple nin in Rock, I don't think they'll want it back."

"Not after Gonza-sama bent it in half…" Kouroku murmured under his breath, getting a dry look from both Gonza and Tsume.

"The topic of this meeting has nothing to do with my personal relationship with Gonza's wife," she sighed, leaning back in her chair as everyone else seemed to settle themselves.

"I'll tell her you said that," Gonza murmured, getting a few chuckles in response.

Hana, who had pressed herself up against a wall, should any more shuriken come flying, awkwardly took a chair to Tsume's left, hoping nobody would notice. Obviously, they did though. They were ninja.

"You, girl," Gonza said, staring down at her, from his towering position across the table. Sitting down really didn't decrease his height advantage, and he still seemed to loom over the rest of the party with his behemoth size. "Take the seat to Tsume's right. You're her heir, after all. Her _right-hand._ "

"O-oh, right," she squeaked, zipping over to the appropriate chair, lest someone squash her with their giant, meaty fist. She ducked her head, feeling her face heat up in embarrassment. "S-sorry…"

Gonza scoffed. "Not a lot of courage in this one, eh Tsume? You sure she's your kid?"

"I mean, I was there when I gave birth, Gonza. Are you sure your son is yours?" Tsume challenged, raising an eyebrow. "As I recall, it wasn't you who pushed out a baby fourteen years ago. You were in the waiting room, chewing on ice chips and trying not to hyperventilate."

There was a collective 'ooo _ooh_ ' heard within the room, but when Hana raised her head, everyone else was looking at the floor, or the ceiling, trying to look nondescript.

"Give me a little credit, Tsume-chan," Gonza snorted, even more amused as Tsume _-chan_ scowled at the demeaning honourific. "At least I was there for his conception. As I recall, most of the clan thought you conceived little Hana-chan by _yourself_."

Tsume's scowl deepened, and she narrowed her eyes at him for apparently crossing a line. "My sex life is none of your concern, you old prick. I'm perfectly capable of convincing a child like any other woman, regardless of what anyone says."

A couple clansmen shrank in their seats in guilt, as Tsume's chakra let out a bitter amount of killing intent.

"Touched a nerve, have I?" Gonza scoffed, eyeing all the other Inuzuka who had been impassively listening to their conversation. "You'll have to excuse my manners, I may have forgotten that our leader is a sensitive, fragile _woman_ , and that I shouldn't have tramped all over her pretty, breakable feelings."

"Woooooooooooooooooooow," Hana said, forgetting that she was speaking out loud. She turned to look at Tsume. "Did he really say that?"

"He totally did," Kouroku said to her left.

Tsume groaned, covering her face with her hands. "I'm so tired of this, Gonza _._ Just because I kicked your ass a couple years ago doesn't mean you can disrespect me in front of everyone-"

"Oh, lighten up," Gonza rolled his eyes, resting an elbow in the table. "We have more important things to talk about than how I hurt your _feelings_." He learned his throat, apparently, forgetting all the animosity in the room and getting down to business. "The Yamanaka clan are asking for a higher rate of game this year, and the Uchiha clan are encroaching on our hunting territories more as hunting season continues…"

"The Uchiha are always encroaching on our territory, Gonza," Tsume said, rolling her eyes. "It's right next to ours, and wildlife don't exactly value invisible borders."

"Which is why we should build a wall," Gonza said, pointing a finger at her, "separate the game and keep them from travelling from one area to another. Problem solved."

"Except that's going to ruffle the Uchiha's big blue collars, and piss them off. How'd you like to go up against insulted Uchiha, Gonza? You know how the Uchiha handle insults, right?" Tsume wrinkled her nose at him, leaning back into her chair when his only response was a frown. "Oh, yeah, wait, no they don't. There's no way we're gonna build a wall. We deal with them some other way."

"I only suggested the wall because you haven't come up with anything else," Gonza grumbled, crossing his arms over his chest. "If you'd actually take action, instead of lazing around and having _kids_ all the damn time-"

"I'm an only child," Hana pointed out, blinking impassive eyes at him.

" _Oh_ ," Gonza said, as if he had just discovered some fantastic secret. He looked at Tsume with bright, calculating eyes. "You haven't told her?"

Tsume stared at her hands, folded carefully on her lap. "It hasn't come up in conversation."

Hana looked at her mother, raising both eyebrows. "I'm sorry, am I _missing_ something here?"

Gonza let out a loud, grating guffaw. "You haven't told her! God, woman. How many months has it been? Three?"

Hana's eyebrows seemed to disappear into her hairline. "Tell me _what_ , mother?"

"You have some serious communication issues, my girl," Gonza continued, his face red and splotchy as he tried to hold in his laughter. "You think a little genjutsu can hide the fact that you're-"

"OKAY! Meeting over!" Tsume exclaimed, knocking her chair back and quickly grabbing Hana by the back of her sweater. She sent Gonza an unholy glare. "I take it back. Attacking your wife with a mace was the best decision _I ever made!"_

As she sprinted out of the room with Hana tucked under her shoulder, Gonza snorted. "Probably the only decision she ever made as clan head."

"Dude," Kouroku said, getting up from the table, as everyone milled around in awkward silence. "Too _far_."

* * *

"Why didn't you tell me beforehand?!" came Hana's muffled screech, as her head was pressed into Tsume's side. "I'm your kid! You're supposed to talk to me about these sorts of things!"

"Yeah, well, it didn't come up," said Tsume as she hopped from one rooftop to another. "I didn't think Gonza would bring it up today. Obviously, I was wrong."

Hana forced her head out of Tsume's vest, getting a much needed breath of air. "He said you were using a genjutsu to cover it up- how many months has this been going on?!"

Tsume shrugged. "It's not important now."

"Yes it is! I'm your daughter, need I remind you? You're supposed to tell me when you're _pregnant_. That's important information that I actually need to know!"

"Oh my _god,_ " Tsume groaned, stopping in her tracks and letting Hana out of her arms with an angry hiss. "Don't tell me you're _actually_ upset about this."

"Are you kidding me?" Hana said in a shrill voice. "I expected this sort of lack of communication from _dad_ , but you? What happened? I'm your _daughter."_

Tsume narrowed her eyes. "I would've told you eventually- it isn't that big of a deal."

"When it's been the most we've talked in weeks, yeah, it's kind of a big deal." Hana said, crossing her arms over her chest. "You wanna tell me why, now? Or will someone _else_ end up telling me instead?"

"It's nothing you need to _worry_ about," she said, turning on her heel and marching towards the edge of the roof.

Hana followed after her. "Where are you going?"

"Do I need to tell you _that,_ too?" Tsume said over her shoulder, as she leapt from one building to another, without any sort of effort. "I'm going back to finish what Gonza started."

"You're pregnant," Hana said, looking at her, dumbfounded. "You can't _fight_ him, if that's what you're talking about- what about the baby?"

"Are you gonna stop me?" she challenged, raising an eyebrow. "This is _exactly_ why I didn't want to tell anyone. I'm a shinobi, and I hate how everyone immediately assumes I'm some breakable flower whenever I show a bit of weakness-"

"But a baby _is_ a breakable flower. You can't go off and fight whoever you want if you're pregnant _,_ " Hana said, nearing the edge of the roof. She balled her hands up into fists. That was _Kiba_ Tsume was putting in danger. What did she think she was doing? "You aren't a _soldier_ anymore, mom. You're a _parent._ You can't just _do_ stuff like this anymore if another kid is involved."

Tsume sent her a dismissive frown. "Go home, Hana. Bringing you tonight was a mistake- you aren't old enough to understand."

Cold indignation rose up in her chest. "I _am_ old enough to understand, I'm not just some kid-"

 _Woosh!_

Hana let out a frustrated cry as Tsume disappeared, leaving her alone on the rooftop. And, after taking a brief look at how far up she was, she sat down and waited for someone to come find her. She covered her face with her hands, hating the world for making her so young again.

As if age determined how she understood bad decisions when she saw them.

 _Tsume, what were you doing?_

* * *

On one hand, getting rescued by ANBU on top of a rooftop was kind of thrilling. There was a certain sort of allure to the whole, 'masked hero' angle the organization supported, and from Hana's perspective, it was pretty attractive. That whole turtleneck/vest thing? Totally hot. If she had actual hormones, she'd be all over that sort of thing. Instead, she was left with a ghostly sort of attraction to a guy in a ram mask.

It was like she was remembering what it felt like to be attracted to someone, without really feeling it. A shame, really, because ANBU Ram had some real nice shoulders.

When he dropped her off at her house (he barely needed any directions, thankfully), Hasuki and Kuromaru swarmed her and immediately asked her what happened. After giving them a brief rundown of everything she found out, Kuromaru sighed.

"Council meetings are always a disaster," he huffed, closing his one, yellow eye in frustration. "Ninken meetings are much better- no talking. If anyone has any objections, they meet my teeth."

"Which is why there aren't many ninken meetings in the first place," Hasuki muttered under his breath. He shook his head, looking back down at Hana. "I still can't believe she didn't tell any of us."

Kuromaru flattened his ears to the side of his head. "Tsume's stubborn- I should've noticed her change in scent sooner. If she's having another pup, she can't be so reckless anymore."

"That's what i told her, but she wouldn't listen," Hana sighed, shoving her hands into her pockets. "If she kept it a secret from the both of you, I dunno if she'll listen to you."

The two of them looked at each other.

"Kuromaru has a better chance of convincing her, than I do," Hasuki shrugged. "And if that doesn't work, we could always go over her head and _force_ her to stop."

"Who's more powerful than a clan head?" Hana wondered out loud, before it hit her. No freaking way. "We are _not_ going to the Hokage for help. This is a family matter, we aren't involving _the Yellow Flash_ to our house just to talk Tsume into acting like a responsible mother."

"It was an idea," Hasuki said.

Hana looked at Kuromaru. "You better leave right now and bring Tsume home, so help me. I am not going to the Yondaime for mommy advice."

Kuromaru gave her his best one-eyed eye roll, before taking off in the direction of Tsume's chakra. Apparently, once Hana had been kicked out, the meeting had kept on going. Or… Maybe it was just fighting. What was the difference anyway?

Fantastic. Maybe they needed the Hokage's help after all.

Hana shuddered at the thought. Maybe she should invite a Yamanaka over instead. She'd prefer a pupil-less blonde over an overly idealistic warlord in her house any day.

* * *

Class was really boring when you knew the answers to everything. Well, actually, the first few weeks had been the opposite, since she got to play 'the smart kid' in class and amaze everyone with her awesome book skills, but after a while she got tired of being called on for everything. And she was starting get the feeling that she was on the verge of annoying some of the older kids.

It didn't stop Itachi though, and he continued on for the next few weeks of class, outshining everyone with no idea how other people felt about him. She would've felt bad about the annoyed whispers she overheard at the back of class, but instead used it to her advantage and learnt from his behavior.

Smart asses didn't make any friends, apparently, and while Hana wasn't interested in getting chummy with a bunch of twelve year olds, she also had a keen sense of self preservation.

Still her teachers quickly caught on that she was ahead of the class in terms of academic skills, and they gave her the freedom she wanted- it left her with a lot of time on her hands, and she spent most of it doodling in her notebook, and throwing speculative looks at the back of Itachi's head.

There was still a constant ' _Holy shit, what do I do? Danger, danger, danger'_ running in the back of head every time she so much as glanced at him, but she had learned to live with it for the time being. Itachi stayed near the front of the class the whole time, and never once turned to look at her, which was a relief.

Actually, socially speaking, he held back a lot during class time. Lunch too, once Hana started looking around for his presence. She had sort of fallen into a small group of girls in their class, despite the fact that she had spoken very little to either of them. Izumi Uchiha and Shinko were like, the only people who actually made an effort in including her into their conversation, and at least, for that, Hana was grateful. Izumi was a nice enough girl, despite the family she apparently came from. She wasn't broody or anything, and got along well enough with Shinko without asking about the Sauna-girl's accent, so it wasn't like Hana disliked her. Actually, she was mostly just uncomfortable.

Izumi had a tendency to bring Itachi up in conversation, like, a lot. Enough for it be evident to Hana that the girl had a crush, or at least, the beginning of one. Hana knew the signs- the tells. She knew what a playground romance looked like, and she was not looking forward to how it would end. Either Izumi's parents, or a relative stepped the hell forward and explained to her what _incest_ was, because they were literally cousins, or Hana would have to do something about it.

Because family wasn't supposed to feel that way about each other. It was just… _bleh_ , gross.

It had to be like, a canon thing, right? Izumi was set up to be itachi's love interest, or girlfriend before the massacre, just for her be killed by his hand, and everyone would cry. She knew a setup when she saw it. She had written shit like that in her past life, but now, she was intent on squashing that stupid crush Izumi had for Itachi like a goddamn bug.

Romance for ninjas was just a disaster waiting to happen. Izumi would thank her for it later.

Relationships in general were a hazard, actually. At least Itachi had the right idea, sitting as far away from the other kids as possible. Sure, it was pretty anti-social of him and probably had some other meaning behind it- social anxiety, depression, something, but… yeah. He had the right idea. Friendships could be exploited, and relationships could spell certain death. Isolation from people was probably a good idea, in the long run.

Even if seeing Itachi sit and eat his lunch all alone was… kinda disheartening... She didn't feel bad for him. Not at all. So what if he was just some little kid, eating his lunch without any friends. Getting close to people put them in danger, and Itachi was going to be a killer one day. It shouldn't bother her how lonely he looked. _Really_.

 _Ugh._ She refused to look at him any longer. So what if he was a little kid. So what if she felt bad- it wasn't _her_ job to go and do something. What about Izumi? What about all the other Uchiha in their class? Why weren't _they_ sitting with him? Why was _she_ supposed to be the one to make a move? Screw it, she was going inside.

The last five minutes of lunch was spent reading her history textbook some more, and focusing on sensing chakra again. She wasn't really good at it- she probably wouldn't be a sensor later on in life, but… It was a useful skill, so she might as well have a try at it. She could feel her own chakra easy enough, her chakra coils felt warm and compact inside her- almost like tightly formed springs, ready to release energy. They had grown since she first felt them- larger, longer. If she compared how much energy she had when she first started training before the war, she might've lasted a little more than two or three hours. _Now_ she could go on for five, maybe six if she really pushed herself. It was a combination of two solid years of training and exercise, combined with her expanding pool of energy. You didn't have to _force_ chakra into your muscles to go faster and hit harder, after a while, your chakra just let you _do it._ With a bigger pool of chakra at hand, you could go a little bit farther, train little bit harder, and in turn, your chakra would expand _even more._ It was why chakra beasts like naruto could train for what seemed like forever, without getting tired at all. The human body _ran_ on chakra, and with an ocean of energy at a ninja's disposal? There were _so many more_ possibilities.

Having extra chakra was such a great thing, especially since Hana wasn't even scratching the surface yet. She was still six, and only had about enough chakra for a low-level genin graduate, but it still felt like an accomplishment. She had a long road ahead of her if she ever wanted to make it to _Sanin_ standards, but if she was _already_ showing improvement, what could stop her from getting strong enough to fight Tobirama Senju one day? Not that she ever could, since he had been dead for 50 years or so, but _imagine._ Fighting her inspiration, they guy who managed to make the _coolest_ techniques in the series.

Flying thunder god technique? _Awesome._

Shadow clone jutsu? She _wanted it._

Impure world reincarnation technique? Groundbreaking. Also terrifying, since it _defied mortality_ and brought people back to life, but still. _Groundbreaking_.

Tobirama Senju was probably the only person in the entire world she respected for his amazing inventive abilities, and also wanted to _fight_ on a battlefield someday. So many awesome jutsu had come from that guy's mind. Imagine _fighting_ him. One on one.

Thank god he was dead, and the only fighting they'd ever do would go on in her dreams. Daydreams. The fantasies of a young girl, dreaming of sweet, sweet Tobirama. Who would sweep her off her feet and _fight_ in close combat. Two perfectly matched opponents, duking it out somewhere, completely caught up in the heat of battle. They would throw everything they had at eachother, for him to finally admit how perfect they both were for each other. The perfect partners in battle. Glorious.

And then they'd get married or something, but it wasn't as appealing as _fighting someone_. She wasn't really interested in the whole _romance_ thing yet, and hadn't been so much in her past life either. The idea of being domestic and cutesy with someone… was kind of a giant turn-off.

Whatever, she was six, almost seven, she didn't have to think about romance for a _long_ time. Thank god.

Fighting Tobirama Senju though, on top of the hokage monument, as everyone watched in awe? Now _that_ was a fantasy she could enjoy. Oh, sweet, sweet power fantasies, how she missed them from her past life…

She needed to invest in some romance books. She might be a little repressed- normal people usually didn't usually have crushes on historical figures of the past.

Eventually, everybody started filing into the classroom again after a while, and Hana resumed ignoring her teacher's lectures, scribbling tiny Tobiramas into her notebook.

* * *

Hana didn't exactly care for Tenma. Sure, he was friends with Shinko (sort of) and was nice enough to give Hana some space when the two girls, plus Izumi, interacted, but she didn't like the way he acted around Itachi.

Sure, Hana didn't exactly like the Uchiha, but Tenma _hated_ him.

It started when the class went out for Taijutsu lesions after math class, when the two boys were paired up together one day. It hadn't been the greatest match, since Itachi was already skilled enough to win without a lot of effort, but the end result of the fight was _awful_. Tenma had bit the dust a little too hard, and since then, had resented Itachi with a burning passion. Every time the six year old put up his hand in class, Tenma's mood seemed to darken, and Hana knew something was brewing on the horizon.

In short, Tenma was twice Itachi's age, and still got the crap kicked out of them in a fight. So, obviously, the Uchiha had to pay. That was just how kids worked; if somebody spat on your pride, and they were half your age, chances were they had a knuckle sandwich coming in the future, and Hana knew more than well enough to keep her distance.

Nothing more than a little self-preservation. If she minded her own business and let Tenma and Itachi fight it out in taijutsu today, nobody could blame her.

"Alright, everyone find a partner again," Nomura-sensei said, watching as everyone seemed eager to start brawling with one another. God, kids were violent when they got the chance.

Hana saw Tenma eyeing the younger boy across the room. How much damage could a twelve year old do to a six year old anyway? If she went and fought someone else, it wouldn't be that bad, right?

Who was she kidding. Tenma was going to try and destroy him.

 _Ugh._ Why was it down to her to do something? Why did _she_ have to be the one to make changes around here and _do_ something? She didn't want to associate with Itachi- she didn't want to save him from a fight he, more or less, had coming to him. Why was it up to her?

Hana sighed.

She _knew_ why. The _real_ Hana Inuzuka wasn't in Itachi's class, the _real_ Hana wasn't an advanced student, and the _real_ Hana didn't have anything to do with knowing the future or getting close to assassins, or fearing her own death.

The real Hana wasn't someone _important_. She didn't change anything, or have any burden on her shoulders. She'd been a minor character, and had only lived to further _Kiba_ 's backstory. She didn't have any sort of relevance to the world around her.

The old Hana didn't even exist anymore. Her future, whatever it would've been, was gone.

Like they had switched places. The old Hana didn't have a future in this world, and the person who replaced her didn't have anything left in her _old_ world.

Had she just… disappeared? Had her family noticed at all? Oh god, did they have to grieve her loss? Was she basically _dead_ in her old life? She didn't have a way back- she might not ever be able to see her family again. Her parents, her brothers, her little sister…

She wasn't ever going to fall in love, or become a famous artist, or graduate university and make her family proud. She wasn't ever going to see her sister grow up, and then never get the chance to _finally_ start getting along and be _friends_ like they were always supposed to be.

She'd never be able to grow old with her best friend from the states, and her chest hurt with how many promises she had broken by disappearing one day, without warning.

She'd never see her parents again, or her brothers, or her tiny niece, who she loved more than anything in the world. She'd fade out of her memory in a few years, and only end up as an unfamiliar face in their family album as her niece grew up. People would cry and look for her for a while, and her disappearance would destroy her family's life, along with her friends, but they would end up… enduring it somehow. The pain of losing a loved one would fade, and their lives would go on. They had to.

Hana's life _before_ wouldn't.

She didn't have the same sort of future anymore. Chances were, she was going to die before her twentieth birthday, cold, alone, in another world entirely. She was doomed to be a murder victim in a country where people made a living off of it. She'd bleed out surrounded by strangers and unfamiliar faces, and come to love other people only to fill the void her old life had left behind.

She really didn't have anything left to lose by getting close to Itachi. Sure, she'd be putting herself in more danger than she was comfortable with, but… what was the point?

What _was_ the fucking point? She was doomed anyway, she might as well use what was given to her as an advantage. She could _use_ Itachi to make herself stronger. He was _right_ there too, all alone, no friends in sight, it'd be _easy_.

"Does everyone have a partner to practice with?" Nomura-sensei asked, scanning the crowd. Eventually, her eyes fell on Hana. "Do you have a partner Hana-San? I could pair you up with another two students if you don't mind."

Hana shook her head. "I'm okay, sensei." She paced across the training field, cutting Tenma off half-stride, and offered her hand to the tiny, lonely kid, at the back of the schoolyard. "Itachi-san, would you like to be my sparring partner?"

* * *

 _ **End of chapter 9**_

I had a list of stuff I wanted to explain, that happened in this chapter, but after reading it, I'm not sure I need to explain stuff. Ok, well, I could, a bit;

1\. Tsume is not dealing well with the shift from soldier to mom again, and after discovering being pregnant, is not managing it as a healthy, adjusted person should. She's ignoring her problems and not talking to her family, which is pretty bad.

2\. Clan stuff WILL return, and so will Gonza, and his wife, who is perfect for him, and so will their kid on a later date. Hana needs to get a bit older to fully appreciate Inuzuka clan politics until then, but yes. Plans. I have so many of them.

3\. Hana having a crush on Tobirama is my favourite thing and will come back later to bite her in the ass. I won't tell you what it is, and I worded it so much better in my last note, but lmao, it's great. At least Hana has something to daydream about something while shes stuck going through puberty a second time

4\. On the topic of romance, yes. There's gonna be romance, but it isn't the center of the story. It's more focused on Hana using people to her advantage, and how that goes horribly wrong, but yes. Romance is a thing that will appear in this story, but it'll be more like, casual dating and breakups. It's all in the future though, because there's no way Hana will be dating someone under 18. And that's like, as low as I'm willing to go in terms of partner/age.

Other than that, yeah, sorry for updating late, and having a giant gross chunk of explaining text at the bottom of the chapter. I just recently finished my first year of university, BUT NOW I'M FREE AND DONE so now i get to update and d thing i enjoy! Like writing!. Thanks to theaceoflemonades for being my beautiful beta and helping me restructure this chapter, since it was hell to rewrite with tests/exams trying to destroy everything i hold dear.

I'll try to update soon, Thanks for reading! I'll see you next week!


	10. Chapter 10 - Parent Problems

Not an itachi-concentric chapter, since i need to tie up some loose ends and end the whole 'hana's family has issues' ark for now, but i assure you, next chapter is completely Itachi and co.

 **[Edit]** I fixed some dialogue with Hana's dad since someone pointed out he was taking her word a little too seriously. I haven't changed much, but the feedback was really appreciated

I do not own Naruto

* * *

 **Chapter 10 -Parent Problems**

* * *

Punch, kick, punch.

Hana ducked under an elbow, and kept moving.

Punch, kick, punch.

Itachi grimaced as he had to block one of Hana's kicks. That was definitely going to bruise.

"Wanna take five?" Hana panted, watching as he shook off the pain- his arms already had an imprint of her sandal, bright red against pale skin.

Itachi nodded his head, and they headed over to their bags, tucked safely under a tree. They had been sparring for a good hour now, and the both of them were starting to slow down. That kick wouldn't have even made contact if either of them had been at their full potential.

Well, kicking him was actually the plan, but he was supposed to dodge it. She actually felt a built guilty for making him block with his arms. Maybe she should tone it down a bit? It was way too easy to forget that Itachi was a six year old kid, and beating him up was definitely not going to benefit her later on.

Training with Itachi had become more or less a permanent thing after she kept searching him out. Tenma had tried to get in between them a couple times, but after she started asking Itachi at lunchtime to be his partner, he had enough sense of mind to politely decline the older boy during taijutsu practice, if he asked first.

At least the kid caught on fast. Tenma wasn't someone Itachi could just win over with his stunning personality and winning smile.

"What have you got today?" Hana asked, pulling out the little paper bag that held her lunch, while Itachi pulled out a neatly sealed metal container. Uchiha, they always had to one-up you. She tried by to roll her eyes.

"Kaiseki bentō" Itachi quietly answered, getting settled beneath the shade of the hashirama tree. The playground was covered in them, and their tall, broad leaves provided excellent cover from the sun.

"That has like, fish and dumplings in it, right?" Hana sniffed the air. "Something sweet too?"

Itachi held up a little bag of crumbly fish cakes. "My mom packed me Taiyaki for later."

"Your mom has good taste," She said, digging through her own bag, before pulling out a hastily prepared sandwich (that she made) an apple, which had been peeled and neatly sliced (that Hasuki had given her) and a couple pieces of jerky, (that Kuromaru had suggested). She offered a couple pieces to Itachi, who, as politely as possible, wrinkled his nose at and declined.

"No thank you, Inuzuka-san. I'm alright." He said, before taking a bit of his Taiyaki like a good kid, instead of going towards his cake first.

Ugh, was everyone in his clan so polite?

"Do your arms still hurt?" Hana asked, taking a bite out of her sandwich. She did not want Itachi to go home and tell his parents that she had been beating him up during school every day. Not only was it… Partially true, it would probably reflect poorly on her clan.

She also really, really didn't want to picture what his dad would say. Or do. Fugaku Uchiha was a loose cannon.

Itachi shook his head, carefully setting down his bento to grab a thermos, with a little Uchiha fan printed on the top. "I'll be alright, thank you. Ive gotten worse injuries training with my father."

Hana pursed her lips. "That doesn't sound very good… shouldn't he a bit more careful?"

"He trains me to get stronger," Itachi said, unscrewing the top of his thermos. "A few bruises aren't anything compared to what a shinobi must face."

Oh boy, he was already sounding like their textbooks.

Hana shook her head. "You're still a kid though, if you aren't careful, you could really hurt yourself. Your dad should know better to push you too hard."

"It's how I got to where I am today," Itachi said sagely, before turning his dark, cutting eyes on her. "What about you? Doesn't your dad train you?"

"My dad doesn't teach me anything," Hana scoffed. "My mom used to, but I've pretty much been training by myself for the past while."

"Is that so," Itachi said, turning his attention back towards his lunch. The unsaid 'and you can still keep up with someone like me?' hung in the air between them.

Hanaducked her head. She hoped she wasn't making this 'child prodigy' thing look easy.

"I-I mean, I train every chance I get, obviously. Something like…" she started counting on her fingers. "...something like… 32 hours a week? Taijutsu, mostly. I spend the rest of my time meditating and looking after my ninken." She gave him a dry smile. "Or sleeping, obviously."

He frowned. "What about homework?"

"I got most of that done the first couple weeks," she shrugged. "With a bit of help from my babysitter, I guess. I really like the history part of our courses, so I got that finished first."

"Thats impressive, Inuzuka-san," He said, giving her an appraising look.

"You can call me Hana," She said, shooting him a friendly smile. "I don't really mind, most of the people in my clan doesn't use honorifics."

He slowly nodded his head, mulling over the information their conversation had given him. 32 hours of taijutsu a week? Her favourite thing to study was history? Inuzuka-san's family didn't use honorifics? Strange.

Eventually, recess ended and they were called back into class. Itachi and Hana packed up their lunches and went their separate ways, but not before bidding the other goodbye.

Itachi briefly wondered what happened between the two of them for the Inuzuka girl to suddenly want to be around him. Surely, it wasn't anything bad, right? Perhaps Itachi would make a friend at school after all.

* * *

The rest of class, for Hana at least, was spent with a scroll on hand seals sprawled across her desk. Occasionally, brushing up against her neighbour as he tried his best to write down whatever the teacher was saying.

Nomura-sensei and Takada-sensei, the little old man who taught them mathematics and geography, were going over a book the class had been assigned a week ago. Hana had already sped through it a while ago, so class wasn't really interesting at the moment, other than the fact that Takada-sensei was wearing knee-high socks with sandals. It was a horrifying sight. Their senior teacher was the kind of guy who wore really high shorts too, so it there was an added benefit of seeing all sorts of leg while he stood and taught everyone. Nomura-sensei didn't seem to mind much, sitting and listening while the old man continued talking about the depth and meaning behind blue roses on a countertop, how meaningful they were to the story, how they conveyed tone, and just exactly what the author must have been thinking while putting those roses in.

It was like high school english classes all over again. At least she enjoyed english class then- now it was all 'will of fire' and 'shinobi this, shinobi that'.

Ugh, class was slowly sucking the life out of her.

She turned her attention back to her scroll, something she was actually interested in for once. Hand Seals, signs, elemental manipulation and chakra. Magic, basically. With a militarized use put to it. Whatever, it was still cool, Hana wanted to learn about this sort of stuff regardless of how the world wanted to treat chakra users. Magic was still magic, and once she got used to the normal way people harnessed chakra, she could figure out her own way- like art! Everyone at her old school used to study great artists and styles before their figured out their own, and Hana could apply the same thing to ninjutsu. She could be creative and do her own thing! But first, she had to learn how to make hand signs the traditional way.

So- getting down to it, the twelve basic hand seals taught in the academy were Bird, Boar, Dog, Dragon, Ox, Tiger, Rat, Horse, Monkey, Hare and Ram. She had to memorise all of them if she wanted to pull off the simplest of techniques- Bunshin and transformation Jutsu required three different sels each, and that was just scratching the surface. There were Jutsu that needed thirty or forty seals to function properly, it was crazy. Each handsign, bird, baor, etc. were named after the Chinese zodiac and had different elemental chakra affiliated with them. A fire technique would use more tiger hand seals, while earth would use a snake seal. Jutsu that required a crazy amount of signs tended to favour one or two as their most dominant seal, like the water dragon bullet technique, which relied on boar, bird and dragon sigs to create a massive overpowered water dragon. (which she'd never learn. Learning the order of 42 hand signs was just… not worth it..)

The bird sign started out with a both index and pinkie finger creating a temple pose, with middle and ring finger intertwining between the two hands. The thumbs were brought together at the bottom, pushing somewhat towards the user, since that was what it looked like in the illustration in front of her. Really, the illustrations were less of a guide, and more of a vague impression of what she was supposed to do. Getting a demonstration was probably a better plan. How was she supposed to memorize 12 of these and do them so quickly? Damn ninjas and their love for complicated bullshit.

There were even more handsigns to learn too- Dozens and dozens of them. According to region, user, and type of technique- hell, there were at least twenty variations for each sign-! Hardly any of them were even useful anymore and they were constantly being improved on, it was ridiculous. Sometimes people made up new ones for their own technique, or merged signs together to make a whole new mess that Hana really wasn't looking forward to copying. It made sense that there was a lot of variation, but it was just as stressful as learning how to write all over again. But with her hands instead of letters, and a 3-D surface instead of a 2-D one. And really, fuck that.

Hana rested her head on her desk. "I'm going to dieeeeeeeeeee."

"Are you in pain?" her neighbour asked, even though the Yamanaka hardly sounded concerned. "If you end up dying, try not to bump the table too much. Some of us are actually trying to do homework."

Ah, there it was.

"I do homework," Hana said, peering up from her deck. Fū Yamanaka looked down at her with unimpressed amber eyes. She pouted, scanning his paper. "I finished that set of questions like, weeks ago. Takada-sensei was really impressed."

"I'd be too," Fū muttered, glancing at her scroll. "Your clan isn't really well known for their academic scores."

"Grades aren't everything, you know," she frowned. "And your clan isn't well known for ginger hair. What's your excuse?"

Fū gave her a deadpan look. "I'm a bastard."

"Okay, you didn't hear it from me," Hana snorted. When he didn't elaborate, she looked at him again. "Oh- wait, you mean like, the familial type? Uh- shit, sorry?"

Wasn't it like, really shameful to be a bastard in a society that idolized bloodlines and family ties? Yikes.

Fū rolled his eyes. "Save it- if you really felt bad you'd let me copy your homework."

"I'd let you… what?" Hana frowned. "Why would I do that?"

"Wouldn't it be in poor taste to have the Inuzuka clan heir mock a Yamanaka for not knowing his father?" Fu raised an eyebrow at her. "I accept homework and notes as compensation."

"Are you trying to blackmail me?" Hana asked incredulously.

Fū shrugged, turning his attention back to his homework. "The choice is up to you."

Hana opened her mouth, before promptly shutting it. Man, this kid was... Kinda brilliant for trying to prey on her sympathy. She could sorta relate him- and, having him in her pocket, along with Itachi, could really help her out later on.

"I like you." She nodded, looking at the Yamanaka in a new light. "You're a devious little weasel. I admire that."

Fū shot her an unimpressed stare.

"Consider it done." Hana grinned, holding out her hand.

He blinked at her. "I- what?"

"Do you want the work or not?"

He seemed to consider her offer. "Can I get a copy of this week's multiple choice questions too?"

"Don't get greedy," Hana said, holding up her notebook.

* * *

"I don't want to meet the Hokage," Hana said, crossing her arms over her chest.

Hasukī and Kuromaru had gone ahead in their plan and requested a meeting with the Yondaime, despite her opinion.

Hasukī tried persuading her again, kneeling downtown her level. "Hana, we booked this appointment for all three of us, you can't just…"

He stopped talking as the scowl on Hana's face depended. "If you're going to meet the Yondaime, I'll be outside. I'm not changing my mind about this."

Getting someone with so much power, enough to end the third shinobi war, to intervene on a family matter… It felt wrong. It was like asking the president (or prime minister, since she was Canadian in her past life) to tell your mother to stop being so stubborn, and to come home and take a few months off work. It didn't sit well with Hana, and she didn't want any part in it. She wanted to handle things the old fashioned way.

Hasukī sighed in defeat, and Kuromaru stared at her. "Don't most shinobi children want to meet their hokage?"

"Well, prepare to be disappointed." She said, flipping her ponytail over her shoulder.

She was probably acting childish, but she knew what was going to happen to Minato, and she knew the degree of power he had during the time he was alive. She didn't want to be in the same room as him- He had the power to destroy squads of veteran shinobi in the blink of an eye, and honestly? The idea of getting that close was terrifying.

Sure, he probably wouldn't ever even think of raising a hand to her, being a young, defenseless child and all, but the potential was there. It was like knowing someone had a pair of ultra-strong shotguns under their jacket, and knowing ahead of time that they've used those shotguns to kill hundreds of people. Who had lives, and families… Sure, war was war, but that didn't erase the fact that Minato was responsible for a lot of people's death. There was a lot of blood on his hands, no matter what sort of guy he was supposed to be.

So, obviously, she was going to brood outside his office and wait while Hasukī and Kuromaru asked for his help.

"I'm sure they won't take long," the pretty secretary said, looking up from her stack of papers in the waiting room. She sent Hana a tired smile and went back to working on whatever was in front of her.

Hana sighed, taking a seat at one of the many empty chairs that filled the room. It was what- four thirty? She hadn't been out of class for very long, and was already lamenting all the missing training time. Maaaaan, how was Itachi going to take her seriously now that she was skipping out on her training? Ugh, this was pointless.

She hopped off the chair and made her way outside, shoving her hands into her pockets as she phased into the crowd of people out on the sidewalk. She wanted to go home and hang out with the Haimaru brothers, but thought better of it, once she turned a corner and spotted someone familiar.

Tatsuo Shibata was sitting outside a little Cafe, chatting happily with another man over a bowl of… something, that smelled of hot spices and herbs.

Wasn't he supposed to be her dad or something? Wasn't the source of all her woe, right now, because of her stupid family issues? Wasn't he supposed to be the person talking to the hokage right now, instead of Hasukī and Kuromaru? A dog and a teenager had filled in for this guys absence her entire second life- how sad was that?

Did he even care about Tsume? Or her, or Kiba? Fine, fuck it, she was going to go over there and chew him out.

Forcing a little chakra into her muscles, Hana darted over to the table Tatsup was sitting at, and forced herself into the seat next to him in less than a second.

Hana watched with a blank expression as both men jumped in their seats. "How's it going, old man?"

Instant fear and recognition fell on Tatsuo's face, as his friend clutched his chest. "Hana, what are you doing here?"

"You shouldn't sneak up on veteran shinobi like that, little girl," the other man wheezed, reeling in the panicked, chakra aura that singed the table cloth under his hands. He looked to his friend with a questioning look. "You know what she's doing here, Tatsuo?"

Hana watched with accessing eyes as Tatsuo looked guiltily between his daughter, and his friend. "She's… ugh…"

Did this guy not know Tatsuo was a dad? Like, somewhat, more or less, legally bound to the Inuzuka clan heir? She had the red fangs tattooed onto her face, clear as day. It shouldn't have been hard to put two and two together, if it was common knowledge that…Wait, were her parents married?

…

Probably not, considering the fact that seeing Tsume in a wedding gown was just about as likely as seeing Kuromaru in one.

Still, what the hell, was Tatsuo so ashamed to be a dad that he purposely didn't tell anyone about her? What was she- some kind of secret? Was he actually lying about her entire existence?

Okay, sure, she could roll with it.

Hana sent both men a big, toothy smile. "My name's Hana, and I'm training to be a shinobi. My babysitter told me to wait around here until he came back, so I decided to sit with you!" She shot Tatsuo her best puppydog eyes, making sure she actually acted her age for the first time in her life. "Is that okay, mister? I don't wanna be rude or anything… but see, my papa's not around...and... and..." She faked a sniffle.

Her dad looked physically pained, but his friend spoke up after she took things up a notch, and made her eyes water on command. "Sure thing, kid. Just as long as you don't run off or hurt yourself or anything." He smiled. "You said you're training to be a shinobi? That's real brave of you- you've gotta be what, five? Six?"

"I'm turning seven in a couple weeks," she said cheerfully, beaming him a smile and forgetting her fake crying act entirely.

Tatsuo choked, and quickly took a drink of water.

Seven years of being an absent parent really must be hard.

Hana quickly turned to his friend again. "Say, mister, you're real nice. Do you have any kids yourself? I bet you'd be a great dad."

He chuckled. "I don't have any kids. As a shinobi, you don't often get a chance to settle down with anyone- though, between you and me, I wouldn't mind a few myself."

"Aw, thats so nice," Hana said, quickly turning her attention towards her real target. "What about you? Ever think about having kids, shinobi-san?"

Tatsuo froze. "I- I- well, I haven't-"

"Dude, what's wrong with you?" his friend asked. "Are you feeling okay?"

"I just realized I left the stove on, I need to go, immediately. " He confessed, getting up from his chair suddenly and tossing out a few bills from his wallet. "Sorry, Akihero-san, I need to check up on it."

His friend looked between Tatsuo and Hana. "What about the girl?"

"I'll take her," the other man said, scooping Hana up into his arms, before making a break for the door.

Why did this seem kinda familiar?

* * *

Tatsuo dropped her once they had gotten far enough away from Akihero's chakra signature, and hana had to catch herself at the last second, landing on her knees.

Tatsuo watched as she dusted herself off, crossing his arms at her, "Why did you do that?"

Hana got up, fixing him with an unimpressed look. "You kinda brought it on yourself, you know."

Tatsuo shook his head. "I don't know what youre talking about. Go home, Hana."

Okay, she was done giving this guy any more last chances. Her knees hurt- Tatsuo was being a prick. "You're a shitty dad, you know that?"

He blinked at her. "Excuse me?"

"You're lucky I have Hasuki and Kuromaru around to look after me, because I swear, your attempt at parenting? Really not the best. I would not recommend it." She looked up at him with the same, dull, dark stare that Itachi gave her on more than one occasion. The sort of stare that kids her age really weren't supposed to have.

Tatsuo actually actually shivered. "You've never been a normal child... Your test scores, your report cards-"

Hana scoffed. "Wow, I didn't know they gave those out to strangers."

He looked down at her with knowing eyes. He knew something wasn't right with her. "Why have you waited until now to say anything to me?"

Because she believed in giving people the benefit of the doubt? Because the family she knew in her old life actually came back when they left?

Still, she couldn't exactly come out and confess that she was older than she really was. Tatsuo was an asshole, and the only reason he was suspicious of her was because he was detached from the family, and got to see her act all… grown up, when she was a baby. She was under the impression that the rest of her new family wasn't as aware of her strange behaviour, and were willing to overlook the really obvious stuff because they loved her. Tatsuo though? No such luck.

Still, it'd be better for her safety if she changed the subject.

She shoved her hands into her pockets. "How does it feel to know that a dog and a teenager are doing a better job of raising me than you?"

Tatsuo frowned at her, brushing off the string of insults as if they didn't mean anything. "I'm a shinobi, I have a job- I can't be around all the time to be a Father. What do you want, Hana?"

"I want you to leave."

Tatsuo shook his head. "It's not that easy, kid. I'm not going anywhere. Just because you don't like me, just because im not able to be around much, doesnt mean im going to disappear." he crossed his arms over his chest. "Konoha is my home, where you think I'd go?"

She glared at him. "Tsume's pregnant again."

Now that got a reaction out of him. Tatsuo's eye's widened, and she could feel the sudden spike in his chakra, before he quickly tried to cover it up before anyone noticed. "How do you know? Hana, tell me right now."

"I mean, am I obligated to say anything? Yes. Do I have to?" she shrugged. "Not really."

"You'll tell me this instant, child." Tatsuo said, pointing an accusatory finger at her. She could almost feel his chakra buzzing anxiously under his skin. "This isn't funny-"

"I'm being serious, she's pregnant. Like three months now." Hana said, watching as her dad retracted his arm and ran a nervous, almost cagey hand through his hair.

"Tsume couldn't…" He looked back at her again, for confirmation. "You're not joking?"

She gave him an unimpressed stare. "You're the one who slept with her, you tell me if there's a possibility she could be pregnant."

He looked down at his hands and seemed to count something out on his fingers.

Hana made an unimpressed grunt. Did they really have unprotected sex, and hope this sort of thing didn't happen? Ninjas, always in a damn rush.

"You want my advice?" Hana asked, breaking the internal monologue going on in Tatsuo's head. "You don't want to be a dad, that's fine. Leave. Take a job securing some outpost in the woods somewhere."

Tatsuo gave her a panicked look. "I can't just leave-"

Hana held up her hand to silence him and was a little impressed when it actually worked, making the older man obediently shut his mouth with a click. "Its really not going to make much of a difference if you stay here in the village, and avoid us, or leave. We'll be fine. We've been doing fine without your involvement in our family." She looked him head on, squaring her shoulders. "You don't want to be a dad, I get that. I'm giving you a way out."

"Is that so?" he lowered his eyes, thinking it over a few minutes, before nodding his head. She would've missed it if she wasn't hyper focused on his every movement. "I'll… Think about it."

It sounded more like a confirmation. She tried not to let get to her, but… ah, shit. It still kinda stung that the guy who was supposed to be her dad chose freedom over her. What an asshole.

She forced on an air of nonchalance, and shrugged at him. "Hey, at least i get a little brother out of this mess. You aren't the one who's going to have to deal with Tsume later on."

Tatsuo snorted. "You're right, she was pretty difficult to live with the first time she was pregnant."

Hana scowled. Okay, nonchalance over. She started pushing him towards the Hokage building. "Okay, time to go old man. Go book a one-way trip to the border or something, we're burning daylight talking like this."

* * *

Punching things really took you mind off of family problems.

Like, how Kiba was going to turn out now that she may have screwed up their family dynamic, or improved it, or made it worse. Would Kiba be different now that she chased Tatsuo off, or would she screw everything up like the last time she had been a big sibling? She couldn't handle fighting every day with someone she loved- if her relationship with kiba ended up anything like her relationship with her sister from her past life… it would be hell.

What if she messed everything up? What if kiba hated her? What if she alienated him, or gave him some sort of complex by being a prodigy?

Oh god, what if he actually ended up hating her? Just like her sister from her past life- shit, fuck, she had no idea what to do, and Kiba hadn't even been born yet.

Wailing on a training dummy helped channel her anxiety.

Punch, kick, punch.

Also, wailin on Itachi. But her training partner wasn't here, so the best she could do at the moment was take her stress out on a padded scarecrow.

It was fine, she was used to settling for things. Hasuki wasn't confident enough to train her while the third shinobi war was going on, so she went for training dummies and books. When she found something she was interested in, and could practice for long periods of time, Hana worked on it. Religiously.

She had been that way about her other hobbies once- especially with art. It was how she got really good at things, she set her focus on a very few specific tasks, and she repeatedly worked at it. Often, ignoring all of her other duties.

(was she making the right decision sending Tatsuo away? Was she fucking everything up? Punch, kick, punch. Much better.)

That was where her little pink day planner came in, because she honestly could not stop herself sometimes. In her old life, she had taught herself to completely shut off her hearing when she got focused, and her vision practically narrowed in on her target. The world basically stopped existing when she was really focused on something, and it completely messed with her sense of time.

Which was why she always spared herself long, strenuous training sessions so she would tire herself out and actually want to stop when her time was up. And... why she stole Hasukī's kitchen timer.

"Cuc'CAW! Cuc'CAW!" The alarm screeched, flapping its little plastic wings at her. The hen buzzed, making it vibrate off her planner and onto the ground. "Cuc'CAW-!"

"Okay, okay I get it." Hana sighed, giving her training post one last look before going to turn off the shrill alarm. It was annoying as hell, but that was why she chose it.

She opened her planner and marked off another training session. Four and a half hours a day was pretty good. She spent a bit longer on the weekend, but she wasn't lying when she told Itachi she trained 32 hours a week training. Maybe she just had higher standards as an adult, and that much exercise would have made her old self die from exhaustion but it was worth it after she realised she could use chakra to, you know, not die from horrible, horrible, muscle pains the next day. She always scheduled herself a day off from training too, always made sure she made time for meditation and sleeping, and always stayed hydrated. She took care of her new body, second time around, and actually wanted to get up each morning to do exercise.

Scheduling everything out had made her life so much easier, Hana honestly didn't know what she was doing this whole time without her planner.

At three, when she got out of class, she worked on her endurance and ran all the way home (sometimes enhancing her muscles with chakra, sometimes without) and by then it was usually 3:15 or 4 (if she didn't use chakra) and she got to work on her taijutsu until her time was up.

The first few times she tried out her new schedule, Hasukī had gotten worried and found her later, beating on a post. Her schedule cut through suppertime and he apparently missed her.

He was the only one who seemed to do so, in the end. Since Tsume never cooked anymore and tatsuo… wasn't a missing person really, but she hadn't seen him around the days that followed their little conversation. They had parted on good terms at least, so that was something. It was probably the longest conversation they ever had, and Hana really wasn't looking forward to coming clean later on, when Tsume found out Tatsuo's new spot on the other side of the country.

It… was for the best. Probably. She handled the situation like an adult, and put Kiba's well being ahead of everyone else's. He deserved a stable environment growing up, and Hana was making sure everyone's loose ends were tied up. And Tatsuo hanging around just to spend time with Tsume, and then leaving the morning after, was not what a kid needed growing up.

Hana sighed, packing up her things. She just hoped her family wasn't going to hate her later on. She didn't need a second life of passive-aggressive fighting on top of being in the military and being a child soldier. Coming home to an unhappy house would probably make things a thousand times worse.

She just hoped she was making the right decisions.

 **XOXOX**

 **End of ch 10**

Yo, this chapter hasn't been beta's and will be edited on a later date. Sorry for any typos/grammatical issues, i'm actually horrible at editing stuff, and theaceoflemonades 's internet is acting up. I'll probably update this chapter later when we both have the chance to fix things.

Tell me what you think of hana asking Tatsuo to leave? Was it too soon? Too harsh? Not tough enough? I really enjoying hearing your input!


	11. Chapter 11 - Being Friendly

Hana is actually making headway with the friend thing! Still, not the normal way a normal kid makes friends, but hey, she's learning this all over again. Blackmail and lying? Perfect ways to get close to people. This is exactly what you should do to make lifelong bonds.

* * *

 **Chapter 11 - Being friendly**

* * *

It had been two and a half months since Hana started school and they were finally having a test.

Tatsuo hadn't actually left the village yet, but he definitely hadn't hung around since he and Hana talked, a couple days … He was making up his mind? Whatever the cause, he still wasn't around, and neither was Tsume. According to Kuromaru, she had talked to the hokage and was preparing for her leave of absence with the clan… But nothing has really changed. Tsume was working, Tatsuo was absent, and the only one around to take care of Hana was Hasukī. Sure, she loved the guy, but she still missed talking with her mother. She couldn't stop thinking about Tsume and Kiba and Tatsuo, and then about how different her old family in her old life was compared to her new one- it kept her from training at times, and made it hard for her to sleep at night.

So, when they had their first test, Hana was sleep-deprived and unprepared.

Hasukī was bright and chipper as always in the morning, which made things even worse when she hauled herself outta bed and realized what was happening today. He made her eggs and bacon for breakfast, and would have arranged them into a smiley face if Hana didn't scarf them down in time.

She was pretty sure she was creating some pretty dark killing intent when she eventually made her way to school. On one hand, she was glad she didn't have to worry about makeup or hunting for a nice outfit, because she wore the same sweater and shorts every day. All she had to do was brush her teeth, put her hair into a messy ponytail, and go. No cover up or eyeliner necessary. Everyone avoided looking at her anyway- killing intent did that to people who weren't used to it.

Once Hana got settled, and Nomura-sensei handed out the test, Hana was ready to throw herself out the window. The quiz was sixteen pages long, and was double sided, and hana only had the barest idea what the hell was going on since she was so far ahead of everyone she let herself forget what was actually happening in class.

"Psst- hey," Fū whispered, bumping her arm. "You know the answers to these?"

"I really don't have the energy today," Hana muttered, scanning the sheet. Great, all written answers.

"But you know the _answers_ -" he said, ducking his head as Nomura-sensei walked by. "What's number four?"

Hana sighed. It was long-division with a bit of history thrown in- gauging the inflation count for kunai during the third ninja war. "It's 55,000, ryō to buy a three pronged thunder God kunai. Now leave me _alone_ -" she hissed.

His face didn't change, but Fū's pen tapped his paper unhappily. "That's not what we agreed on-"

"-we didn't agree for me to help you cheat on tests." Hana glowered.

He narrowed his eyes at her. "Honour our deal. You give me homework and notes, and i don't ruin your reputation-"

"Oh please," She whispered, scratching down another answer. "That's totally cheating on our agreement."

"Come on,"

She glared at him out of the corner of her eye. "No, look at your own paper, jerk."

" _Hana_ ,"

 _Okay, screw this guy._ Hana spun around to face him. "Tests don't count- go find your own answers, i'm not going to help you-!"

"Hana, do you have something to share with the class?" Nomura-sensei asked, raising an eyebrow at her. "Or does your friend Fū have anything to say? I'm sure you were having a lovely conversation- unfortunately, I only caught the last half."

Hana ground her teeth together as their teacher took away their papers. Fū looked down at his desk, clicking his pen in annoyance.

"Detention, for the both of you."

* * *

"This is all your fault," Hana glowered as she scrubbed the floor after class.

"I hardly agree." The auburn haired yamanaka said, mopping the floor ahead of her. "You're the one who gave the game away by losing your temper."

"Yeah well, sue me." She grunted, putting all of her weight into scrubbing away years of dirt and grime. "It's not my fault I didn't get any sleep."

Fū raised an eyebrow. "Do I need to ask?"

"Not really," Hana muttered.

After a few long minutes of silence, Fū pursed his lips. "Isnt it funny how the youngest kids in the class have the highest grades? By civilian standards, you should figuring out how to count and tell time. Instead, you're doing math faster than your peers, and reading far beyond a graduate level." He gave a dismissive shrug, despite the accusation in his words and the tense feeling hana felt coil in her stomach. "You and Itachi… you aren't like the rest of us… are you?"

She swallowed the lump in her throat, and kept scrubbing the floor. "I dunno. I feel like a pretty average kid, myself. I can't speak for itachi though. "

"You're definitely not average." He accused, continuing to mop away. "Not that i'm complaining, of course. The notes you gave me last week brought my grade up fifteen percent."

She stayed quiet, going back to her scrubbing.

What a little weasel. He was way too aware of her situation than he should be, fuck.

She was such a shitty actor, and she so was so tired of acting like a kid. Seven years of acting like a fool was torture, and she wasn't even doing it right. God- fuck, she was awful. Why did she even want to be a prodigy? Was it to feel good about herself? To feel smart for the first time in her life? Well, screw that- she felt like the biggest fool next to Fu. He was just twelve, and he had already figured her out. Him _and_ the rest of the world. God, she was so bad at this 'lying low' thing.

Which begged the question- why wasn't anyone doing anything about it? When was the proverbial witch hunt going to happen? Or, wait- literal witch hunt. People were burnt at the stake for a whole lot less, why wasn't it happening to her?

Was it because of her status as the inuzuka clan heir? Or, er, firstborn child of their leader? (was she even the clan heir, or did she have to earn that title?).

Or… was the village keeping her around so she could be of use to them later?

Christ, she was like a second Orochimaru. Too smart and too young for it to make sense. What if people thought she was going to be like him one day?

Hana shuddered. What a horrible thought. There was no way she could ever end up like the snake sannin- no matter what happened to her in the future, she'd never bring herself to experiment on _babies_. Her morals were far more important to her than the pursuit of knowledge.

Their teacher poked her head inside the classroom. "I heard talking."

"None in here, sensei." Hana answered, scrubbing diligently away.

Fū copied her. "Just the sound of us atoning for our misdeeds. Cleaning. Feeling sorry for ourselves. Thinking about our purpose in this vast, expansive universe."

Hana glowered at him. He wasn't actually that far off, the prick.

"Well, _good_ ," Nomura-sensei said, "I have to go grade tests- I'll be back in half an hour, I expect you both to be here."

"Of course," they chorused, watching her leave.

Fū dropped his mop the second they both felt their teacher's chakra disappear. "Alright, let's get out of here."

Hana frowned. "What about the floor? She'll notice it's not done in time."

"Hana," he said, raising both of his hands. "You should know by now that I like cheating my way out of things."

* * *

"When did you take the time to learn the clone technique?" Hana asked idly, as they sat on the roof of the school. They couldn't go far, since the teacher would be back and see through the illusion, but it was nice to get some fresh air.

Fū shrugged. "I had some free time." He confessed, auburn ponytail swaying in the faint breeze. "Now, tell me how you got out of doing regular classwork."

"Always the give and take." Hana sighed, idly pulling on a strand of her hair. "You know, some people enjoy sharing for the hell of it. Sometimes it gives them a rush- you should try it sometimes. It's called not being a massive tool- maybe you've heard of it?"

"I could always cancel our clones. Get us into more trouble." He shrugged. "It's up to you if you want to miss out training with the Haimaru brothers."

Hana frowned at him. "Did you… get into my day planner? How do you know that name?"

"A question for a question, Hana-san," He shrugged. "Do you have someone doing your work for you in class? A tutor?"

Oooh, fuck it. Witch hunt or no, Fu wasn't going to let up until she said _something_ , at least.

"I'm actually a demon from hell? The gods decided that I should spend eternity in elementary school learning math- i've actually been living the same school year over and over, hoping that one day, someone like you would step forward and ask why i'm ahead of everyone," Hana gave him a deadpan stare. "Save me from this endless torture Fu yamanaka, you're my only hope of breaking the cycle."

Fū raised an eyebrow at her. "I'm not going to answer your questions if you lie to me."

"What makes you think I'm lying?" Hana shrugged, "Maybe i really am a demon- would you turn down someone in trouble just because they're a different species? Thats cold, dude."

"Fine then," he said, crossing his arms over his chest. "If you're a creature from another world, why are you being punished? I find it hard to believe anyone would be forced to go through the academy again for absolutely nothing."

Hana gave her him a salty, bitter head shake. "You and me _both,_ buddy."

He rolled his eyes and moved onto another topic. "So if you're a demon, what can you do? Grow wings? Extend your teeth?"

"Actually, I think my clan does that already."

"So what's the point then?"

"I dunno, guess I'm incredibly average after all," she said, shrugging, before pausing and remembering something. "How much of my planner did you actually read?"

He gave her a deadpan stare. "All of it."

Hana paled. "All of it?"

He nodded. "Every page."

"S-so that means… you saw…" she swallowed, looking down at the ground.

"Oh, I _saw it_."

Hana clasped her hands together, falling to her knees in front of him. "Pleasedonttellanyoneidrewtobiramaandmefightingonthehokagemonument-"

He blinked at her. "Excuse me?"

Hana froze. "You mean… that's not what you saw?"

"No, I saw those pictures- I thought we were talking about your dates with the uchiha."

"Excuse _me?_ " she said, reeling away from him. "He's seven!"

Fu gave her a dull stare. "You're seven."

"And you're a tool," Hana huffed, getting up off the ground. "You know, reading my planner is an insane breach of privacy."

"We're ninjas-, it's part of the job to collect information," he said, watching her dust herself off.

"Right, i forgot," Hana muttered, "right next to assassinations, smuggling, and being generally unhappy with the world we live in and making it even worse as a result."

Fu raised an eyebrow at her as she sat back down, crossing her arms over her chest in a not-so-subtle act of pouting. "You know, for someone so young, you're awfully pessimistic."

She scowled at him. "I'm an optimist, jerk."

Fu shrugged one shoulder. "You're a good actor then,"

"No i'm not," hana said, frowning deeper.

"Are you going to keep arguing with me forever? We're supposed to be in detention, you know."

"And guess who's fault that is." Hana muttered under her breath.

Fu heard her though, and sent her another dull stare. "I'm pretty sure it was a team effort, Hana-san. And besides, arguing is what got us into trouble in the first place. You're very confrontational, you know that, right?"

Hana snorted. "Apparently, i take after my mum."

Fu seemed to consider this. "Interesting. I hope i never have to fight her."

"You and me both," Hana sighed. "So, how much homework am I going to have to come up with to keep you from spilling my deepest darkest secrets..?"

Fū rolled his eyes. "Please, I read your planner, not your diary. Though, you're awfully up-front about your crush on the Nidaime Hokage- should I be worried?" Then he paused, pursing his lips. "I'd be willing to consider half a semester's worth of notes."

"What!?" Hana exclaimed, jumping to her feet. "That's hardly fair!"

"I said _half_ a semester, come on." He frowned. "Information can take or save lives, Hana-chan."

She crossed her arms. "Don't call me that."

"Hana-hime." He smiled sweetly, inclining his head toward her.

She shuddered. "Please, _no._ "

"I'm sure some of the girls in class would _love_ to know when and where you're meeting dear Itachi in secret," he said, bearing his teeth at her in what could've been a smile, if it weren't so sinister.

"That makes it sound _really_ bad," Hana whined. "It's only like, twice a week, and only for an hour-"

"A lot can happen in an hour. Imagine what poor _Izumi_ would think...?"

She'd probably try to cut her. Girls with crushes and competition were _vicious_.

"And imagine what the rest of the class would think once they find out you have colourful, vivid fantasies of our second lorde hokage? Defiling his memory- _for shame_ , Hana."

Hana sighed, defeated. "I was right, you're a devious little bastard."

Fū actually smiled at that- a real, natural smile, confident and (more than) a little bit smug. "I'll take that as compliment."

* * *

The next day, Hana tossed her book full of notes at Fu, and spent the next two hours drawing the Haimaru brothers in her planner. When lunch rolled around, she made a beeline for Itachi, and sat down next to him before Tenma could get close.

At this point, cock-blocking the older kid was becoming something of a habit. Or… was it hana-blocking? Inuzuka blocking? Either way, Tenma backed off, and Hana didn't have to worry about her training partner, slash classroom rival, getting pushed around. If she wanted to capitalize off Itachi being in her class, she had to make sure he was able to actually fight her. If he broke something or ended up avoiding school because of a bit of bullying, well… he training would suffer, and she wouldn't be able to keep an eye on itachi, and the whole wide world would crumble, obito uchiha would summon an evil moon bunny and everyone would die a horrible death.

Hana sighed, taking out her lunch. Man, wouldn't all her troubles be solved if Kaguya actually was a moon bunny? Quite a few of hana's problems would have been solved. Man, why wasn't there a technique for turning people into animals? A plant man could turn the entire moon into an eye, why couldn't hana make people into bunnies? Fuck it. She was going to make her own technique.

Maybe, since her clan specializes in animal transformations, she could figure out a way to merge someone with the body of a rabbit? It'd have to be strong enough to overpower a human, and able to cancel out their chakra, if she wanted them to stay as a rabbit… hmmm..

Was she actually planning on doing this now? Was this going to be her claim to fame? Good lord, she had the opportunity to, her clan probably had enough research on the subject. What if she actually just turned all her enemies into rabbits? Could that just be her solution to everything? Bunnies? It was a much better plan than the ones she had dreamt up previously- avoid all conflict and hope that naruto beat everyone, or, become so crazy powerful somehow, everyone would avoid her.

She was… going to ignore how naive those plans were. There were people in the world powerful enough to control the moon itself- an impossible fantasy like becoming a super sannin was the only thing keeping her from balling her eyes out.

Actually, dreaming that she had a shot at being someone important, and powerful too was the only reason she wasn't throwing herself out of the nearest window. The thought that people like orochimaru existed… in the same world, no, the same village, frightened the ever loving shit out of her. It was like knowing that hitler was your next door neighbor, who was also in kahoots with Attila the hun, who knew Napoleon bonaparte, who was being controlled by Alexander the great, who wanted to resurrect Nero, who somehow had gotten placed on the moon and had given weird-plant birth to Caligula, who in turn got Genghis khan to be his ally for some reason? Because the world needed more villians teaming up?

Everyone of these people were still apparently alive somehow and in the same timespan, and it was _absolutely fucked up_. Jesus christ, Hana really, really REALLY didn't want to be around when everything went to hell. Good god, she needed to figure out a way to turn them all into bunnies.

"What are you staring at." Itachi asked in an exasperated voice. Shit, she forgot she was still sitting next to him. "You haven't blinked in three minutes."

"Oh-" she blinked rapidly- shit, that was like, really bad for your eyes wasn't it? "Sorry I was just thinking about...dogs."

"I don't know why I asked." Itachi sighed, going back to his lunch. A ham sandwich and- yup. sweets. Again. If he kept eating those he'd gain weight- not that Hana minded, fighting him might actually get easier.

Then again, he'd probably use the extra weight to his advantage. The prick.

"We have a match today scheduled at your place." Hana said idly, watching some of the other kids ate their lunch from her perch.

Itachi, for whatever reason, chose the farthest away place to sit and eat his food each day. Every time it was different- and Hana rarely sought him out when he was perched up on something too high up to climb.

Still, none of the other kids seemed to both interacting with him, including Izumi or the rest of his cousins. Maybe it was the age difference? Hana didn't seem to have any trouble blending in with the rest of the students, but then again, she wasn't interested in them as much as she was with Itachi (or Fu, now that she was in some sort of weird extortion/blackmail relationship with him).

Actually, She sorta cared about Izumi and Shinko a bit. She wanted to kill that stupid crush Izumi had on Itachi, for one. She also wanted to figure out a way to get Shinko to convince Tenma to stop prowling around Itachi like some sort of hungry hyena. Hana just didn't have the energy for more fighting, and felt like whatever relationship the two of them had, hana could use it to her advantage.

Maybe she could just ask Shinko to tell Tenma to piss off? It worked with Hana's dad, why couldn't it work for Tenma?

"Does it have to be at my house?" Itachi sighed, almost whining, if he hadn't been so stoic asking. "Why can't we practice at after school, or some of the training grounds around Konoha?"

"Can't- the academy is doing renovations and the uchiha compound is closer than the nearest training area." Hana scrunched up her nose, grinning at him. "And I totally want to see where you live."

"We don't _have_ to practice today-"

"Oh come on," she argued, "You get to spy on my place next time, I wrote it down in my planner, just to make it fair." She held up said book for emphasis. She always had it near her.

"Why is it pink?" The uciha asked, eyeing the sparkles and bedazzled butterflies on the cover.

"I can like pink stuff if i want," Hana quipped, shoving her book back in her bag. "Sparkly stuff is awesome- i bet your mom would totally agree with me if i met her."

He frowned, looking rather uncomfortable. "I'll... have to tell my parents ahead of time if you come over..."

"Great!" She clapped him on the back, jumping to her feet. "I'll be around your place at 5- don't try to run away."

Itachi sighed, sending her a withered look. "Please don't get too destructive, Hana-san."

Hana's smile widened, bearing even more teeth. "How in the world would you get that idea?"

"I don't know why you felt like coming along, It's just a spar, I've had dozens of them before." Hana huffed, crossing her arms as she glared at both Kuromaru AND Hasukī.

"But it's within the _Uchiha_ grounds," Hasukī stressed, nervously wringing his hands as they walked.

"You're entering enemy territory," Kuromaru agreed, nodding his head. "Better to bring backup incase things go wrong."

"You don't think bringing a 6-foot wolf and a retired Shinobi would send the wrong message?" Hana frowned. "I _can_ handle myself you know, I'm not completely helpless."

Kuromaru shook his head. "You may think so, but you haven't been taught to escape genjutsu yet." He gave her a level stare. "The clan _specializes_ in illusionary techniques, they're hard to take with their sharingan."

Hana rolled her eyes. "I'm sparring with a _seven year old_ \- I doubt I'll bring on the wrath of the entire clan."

"You'd be surprised how easy it is," Hasukī muttered under his breath.

"Anyway," Hana said, trying not to roll her eyes. "We're here at least."

The fence separating the Uchiha clan from the rest of Konoha was grand and traditional looking- with a carefully painted Uchiha fan plastered on the gate, which stood tall and proud above the rest of the population, fifteen something feet in the air. The entire area was fenced in with thick traditional-style walls, with heavy, thick brick work with blue painted clay tiles overtop. Itachi stood outside wiring for them, arms crossed and leaning against the wall. High-collar and slightly broody expression. Very Uchiha of him.

"You're ten minutes late," he frowned, looking at Hasukī and Kuromaru. "And you brought guests."

"I couldn't shake them." Hana sighed. "I tried- believe me."

"I don't mind- but my parents might." He warned, jerking his head towards the gate. "Shall we?"

He let them enter first, shutting the gate quietly behind them. Inside, the clan grounds were neatly organized along the main street. Neatly painted signs pointed towards small marketplaces, with houses neatly tucked off to the side, all with a highly manicured, sophisticated look to them that spoke of upper class aristocracy. She shouldn't have been so surprised- she knew the Uchiha were stuck in their ways and had a taste for older… fancier styles, but... It was like stepping into the past.

All of the houses had gently curved roofs and pagodas- some of them ornate in design, with gold detailing (maybe fake gold, since it cost _a lot_ for the real thing, but then again the Uchiha had pretty rich tastes). Each manor looked like a highly decorated temple, with sliding doors and paper thin walls- though they actually looked rather tough. She wondered if the Uchiha had opted for stronger material since paper bunt far easier than anything else. Maybe they had special seals? Either way, their houses were fantastic looking. Hana couldn't tear her eyes off them.

"This is- just...wooooooow." She gaped, making sure to keep up with the rest of the group. Man, she couldn't even _see_ power lines. It was like all modern technology had disappeared. "Hey Itachi, do you have a microwave at your house?"

He thought about it for a second. "No."

"Huh," Hana frowned, following him as they made their way through the Uchiha district. "How do you warm up food?"

"The stove." He said dryly, turning a corner.

"The price one must pay for elegance," Kuromaru murmured, eyeing some of the more decorative lodgings.

"I'm… so sorry," Hana said, clutching her heart. She could have shed a tear- how in the world was anyone supposed to make popcorn here? Or cup noodles? No wonder his clan was always so unsettled- they were missing out on something special.

"This is my house." Itachi said, gesturing to a grand, polished manor twice the size of every other building in sight. It was made of dark, hardwood pine, stained and cleaned in a way that still slightly lingered for Hana's nose to pick up on. She could smell other things inside- freshly cut flowers and grass, home cooked food, a few days old, more cleaning supplies, paper- a lot of paper- ink, smelling salts, the thick heavy smell incense from room to room, and the same sort of human smell that clung to Itachi. Unique- nothing like ink or paper, but human. His own family scent.

Okay, that was getting creepy. She did _not_ want to think about the way Itachi Uchiha smelled. Ugh.

"We can train in the back-" he said, claiming up the stairs to his porch. "-you can leave your shoes inside or carry them, and your ninken..."

"Kuromaru," Hana supplied, glancing at him.

"I shall wait outside." He said, peering at the young uchiha warily. "In the case of anything occurring, a simple whistle and I shall be at my young master's side." He said, as a warning.

Hana quirked an eyebrow at him. As if she'd ever be his master- she was pretty sure his relationship with _Tsume_ wasn't even like that. Still, whatever he wanted others to think was fine. She wasn't about to disagree with him on this, especially when Kuromaru and Hasukī seemed so uncomfortable.

"Tadaima," Itachi said, opening the screen door and kicking off his shoes when he got inside. Hana, and Hasukī followed suit, as Kuromaru watched from outside.

"Oh- Itachi, you're back," the voice of a woman called, followed by soft steps. intentional, to let them know she was coming. A young lady quickly came into view to greet them. "You must be the Hana Inuzuka my son told me about," she said graciously, bowing to them. "I'm Mikoto- Itachi's mother, it's nice to meet one of Itachi's classmates- He's told us quite a bit about you, please, come in." She said, smiling at them all.

Itachi started leading them all down an incredibly polished hallway, his mother trailing behind him, all while Hana tried to push down her sudden feeling of guilt. Itachi had told everyone about her? _Shit._

"I'm afraid you have me at a disadvantage," Mikoto confessed, giving them a warm smile. "I wasn't aware we would have more than one guest,"

"I'm sorry, Uchiha-san." Hasukī said, referring to her last name out of politeness. "We should've given warning ahead of time, Hana hasn't been to someone else's house before, and I didn't want to leave her on her own in case she got lost."

"I wouldn't get lost," Hana muttered, "If I went missing for more than an hour, our entire clan would sniff me out."

Mikoto inclined her head. "Expert trackers you are." She turned her eyes towards Hasukī. "And what am I to call you, Inuzuka-san? You haven't given me a name to call you."

"Oh- uh," he blinked.

And it was then Hana realized how absolutely stunning Mikoto was.

She had the Uchiha long lashes, fine hair, and perfectly porcelain skin down to an art. Hana kinda wanted to paint her? She was beautiful- god, why was she filling in the role of someone's mother? Why wasn't she a model or something?

Oh man- she was a kunoichi too, she could sense it. Her chakra, despite being hidden slightly, was calm and deep, like water. Beautiful even, like if Hana pushed her chakra sense harder. It was almost like she could fall right into it, floating in a clear pool of ultramarine water. Hana could feel her face starting to heat up

Mikoto Uchiha was an endless beauty, and Hana knew right then and there she'd _never_ be able to talk to her properly.

She could see the same thoughts in Hasukī's eyes as he started blinking rapidly, like a deer blinded by the headlights of an oncoming truck. A beautiful, _powerful_ , oncoming truck.

"I, I'm-" he swallowed, somehow regaining his composure."-Hasukī Inuzuka," he said graciously, extending a hand.

She took it, sending him another warm smile, which he returned somewhat nervously.

Mikoto was soooooooooo pretty~ Wow, look at those hands. So smooth- how many people had she punched in her life? Hana blushed.

"We can spar in the back," Itachi said, leading them still. Hana barely heard him, having to be herded along by Hasukī. She sighed, toying with a piece of her hair, before stopping suddenly.

If she was Itachi's mom, wasn't she going to _die soon?_

 **XOXOX**

 **End of Chapter 11**

A/N: Yo, here's some early fanart of hana and Hasuki, done by yours truely:

Here's Hana

( htt ) p : / / 66 . media . tumblr (dotcom) / 83959126760d9d2f92092d93ea82e05b / tumblr _ o7em4w8JXQ1u0ecyao2 _ 250 . jpg

And here's Hasuki

( htt ) p : / / 67 . media . tumblr (dotcom) / 0c74ac3b736f824a3e2bc18cccc490e0 / tumblr _ o7em4w8JXQ1u0ecyao4 _ 250 . jpg

Thanks for reading, I'll see you all next chapter~


	12. Chapter 12 - Common Understanding

_**A/N:**_ Sorry ahead of time for any typos, I get grammar-blind when I go over my own work.

Anyway, let's get this show on the road

* * *

 **Chapter 12 - Common Understanding**

* * *

Hana felt the distinct sensation of someone pouring ice water down her back.

Mikoto uchiha was going to _die_ in six years. By her Itachi's hand no less- her future was fixed, she was a dead man walking.

"Hana?"

Six years- She couldn't have been older than twenty five. That wasn't enough time.

"Hana-chan, is everything alright?" Mikoto asked, blinking her pretty dark eyes innocently at her. As if Hana stopping mid-stride, almost tripping over her feet in anic, was her fault.

It was like some big cosmic joke. Sure, everyone was going to die, some ahead of others and some before their time- but to have Mikoto's death pre recorded? Fixed in time? She was a minor character- where was her backstory? Where was her justice? What happened to each and every other Uchiha cut down, were they all not important enough?

What happened to the _children_ of the massacre? Did they get the same fate as their parents for crimes they didn't commit? Did all Uchiha deserve to be preemptively cut down? What sort of _justice_ was this?

Hana tried to quiet her thoughts. She couldn't _do_ anything about the massacre, she wasn't even supposed to be Itachi's sparring partner in the first place. She just had to breathe, and start moving again.

Itachi and Mikoto lead them down the polished hallway, Hasukī and Hana in tow. He shot her a concerned glance, obviously wondering where her panicked hesitance came from. She didn't let her hands shake, or her expression change, but she had to fight to keep her chakra from showing just how freaked out she was. She wanted to freeze up- to disappear. To hide until the threat went away.

 _Danger danger danger! Itachi Uchiha was a clan killer! You're in a village full of assassins! You're super vulnerable all the time! Right now is a perfect time to freak out about it!_

"I can make us some tea while they spar," Mikoto smiled, turning towards Hasukī. The group had stopped short at a sliding paper door- with little trees and cranes flying everywhere. How elegant. "My husband is speaking with some of the elders of the clan- I'm sorry he couldn't be here,"

"It's fine," Hana said on autopilot. "We spar all the time at school, this is just..."

"In my home," Itachi murmured somewhere off to her left. "With my mother watching."

"I didn't really think this through." She whispered back. "My clan isn't so..."

"Traditional?" He answered, frowning ever so slightly. "I thought as much. I'm sorry if you're uncomfortable right now."

Uncomfortable wasn't even scratching the surface. Ugh, wasn't she supposed to be used to this by now? What was the point of psyching herself up to be Itachi's sparring partner if all she did later on was freak out again?

"Anyway," Mikoto said, both her and Hasukī acting as if they didn't hear any of that. Ninja skills and all. "I'll get some tea while you set up- Hasukī-San, do you have any preferences?"

"Anything sweet will do," he nodded.

 _And you're sweet_ , said another little voice in hana's head, unaffected by her anxiety attack. Damnit, even while panicking she couldn't forget the fact the Mikoto was drop dead gorgeous.

(ha, drop dead- ok now was not the time to laugh at unfortunate puns. Think hana, think! Do not let the future get to you.)

Mikoto turned to Hana and Itachi. "Do either of you want anything? Snacks? Tea after?"

Hana tried to clear the image of a Itachi killing his mother out of her head.

"I don't really drink tea," she confessed. Both adults blinked at her. Ah, right. Tea was like, as popular as water here. She cringed. "I just never really got into it."

A travesty, really, because she liked the idea of tea culture. Sitting inside, wrapped in a blanket with a heavy book on her lap, sipping a warm drink as it rained. The idea of it was nice, but she couldn't quite enjoy any sort of hot drink. Unless it was hot chocolate or something sweet. Coffee was out because it was bitter and kept her up for hours. Tea was just… too watery for her.

Thinking about tea was actually keeping her grounded, more or less. Which was good, considering the fact that she was going to be fighting someone soon.

Specifically, fighting Itachi. Who kills his clan. In his house. In six years.

Hana looked around the room. Was this… the room itachi was going to kill them in? It certainly would be the building. Jesus christ, Mikoto was going to be murdered in six years.

"Actually, you know what? Tea would be _great_ ," Hana smiled, so wide it almost hurt. "I'll have whatever Hasukī has. Oh boy, I can't wait to _spar,_ " she turned towards Itachi. "Shall we?"

He blinked at her. _Slowly._ "Yeah, sure, I guess?"

"Fantastic," she breathed, watching him open the screen door.

* * *

Okay, fighting, Hana could do that. She could punch another kid while her heart was racing a mile a minute. Adrenaline helped things, right?

Wrong.

What it actually did was leave hana nervous, sweaty, and tired already, before the fight. She had wasted her adrenaline rush worrying about the Uchiha massacre, and was already miserable and tired once Hana and Itachi faced each other on either side of the room.

Thankfully, she knew a way to get back some of her lost energy.

"Hold on a sec," She said, making a tiger hand seal and focusing her chakra. She hadn't mastered any technique yet, and mostly stayed away from messing with it, but if she knew one thing about chakra, it was that it was one mighty fine way to reenergize yourself.

Itachi watched her from across the room. "I thought this was going to be a taijutsu-only spar."

"You're right, I just wanted to, ugh, focus a bit," Hana said, quickly breaking the seal and nervously letting her hands drop.

(She still felt like a nerd making hand signs in public. How did people have actual careers in this world when they were doing weird stuff with their hands all the time? Oh, wait, because ninjutsu was real and ninjas were real and the only one still weird about it was her. right.)

(At least she was getting better at this ninja thing. Baby steps, right?)

Hana cleared her throat, taking a step forward onto the training mats laid out in the middle of the room. Hasuki and Mikoto were watching them on the other side, having polite conversation as they stirred their tea. It would've made Hana more nervous, having people watch her spar with Itachi, but she was all focused and ready to actually get their fight over now- new energy seeping into her muscles, and chakra sharpening her mind.

Itachi looked a little put-out. "Using chakra is cheating, Inuzuka-san."

Hana rolled her eyes. "Fine, fine, i'll let you have the first hit, okay? And just call me Hana, come on, I just met your _mom_."

Itachi pursed his lips. "If… you say so, Hana-san."

"Better than nothing, I guess," she sighed, padding forward until the two of them were an arms length apart.

They tossed their shoes and jackets off to the side, and the two of them stood in the middle of the room in t-shirts and bare feet, sticking slightly to the soft plastic covering the floor. They had some protection though, both of them had arm guards and padding around their knuckles and chests. It wasn't the same sort of protection boxers wore in her old world, but it was close enough- They were still young, and inexperienced in actual combat, and a little padding made it easier to trade blows. Neither of them had access to protection all the time though, so their recess and after-school sparring was usually a lot shorter, and ended up with a lot more bruises. With padding, they could actually go all out. Which was good, because Hana needed to keep her mind focused and away from panicking about the future.

She put her hand forward and made the 'super-special-ninja' _seal of confrontation_ , which Itachi mirrored. It was a simple motion- both index and middle finger left out on one hand, while the others remained shut tight in a fist. It was used in all of their spars, and was encouraged for most shinobi to use while having a friendly fight. Both kids nodded to each other, like they had been taught in the academy, and the fighting began.

(Thankfully, the both of them were used to sparring with each other now so neither of them were hesitant trading blows.)

"Good luck out there!" Mikoto cheered as both kids started circling each other. Itachi put his arms up to block one of Hana's fists.

He winced, taking a quick step back away from her. "I thought i had the first strike, Hana-san,"

"Sorry, I forgot," Hana said, trying not to wince herself. "You get first kick?"

"Don't be rude, Hana," Hasuki chastised from the other side of the room. "You're his guest, have some manners."

Hana groaned and braced herself as Itachi's _bony foot_ slammed into the side of her arm. Thankfully, she wasn't knocked off guard, and took the few seconds Itachi spent regaining his footing to _punch_ the protective guard covering his stomach.

"Sorry but-" Hana ducked under a fist heading her way, "-manners don't really help a fight much,"

Itachi frowned as he blocked an elbow swung towards his chin. "What makes you think that?"

"It's just-" She panted, "-Not really going to help when someone's trying to hurt you, right?"

He thought it over as she _kicked the air_ right in front of his face. "Wouldn't it help you from getting attacked in the first place?"

"Probably, but, whoA-!" Hana was jerked forward as Itachi _grabbed her ankle_ , and pushed her across the room, making her stumble and fall to her knees. She got back up a second later and sighed. "Thats one for you, then."

He nodded. "Would you like to go until three and take a break?"

"Sure thing,"

Sparring with Itachi usually meant a couple different things. While they were at school during recess, when they were supposed to be eating and _not_ beating each other up, they practiced how to properly hit each other, usually in slow motion, and without any intent to actually make contact. When they did actually hit each other, it was usually after school with a lot more time at hand. Then, they practiced holds, kicks, and Hana's favourite- _Throws_.

Itachi was not so good at them as she was. And he, understandably, was much less enthusiastic about them, since he always ended up being her target.

Hana parried a punch with her left hand, striking a soft spot in his padding over his stomach, making him flinch. She then tucked her arm under his outstretched one, grasping his side with her free hand, pivoting on her feet, before _throwing_ him over her shoulder and onto the ground with a _glorious_ thump.

"Aha!" Hana exclaimed, looming over him with her fist raised. "One for me!"

Itachi wheezed and batted away her eager fists with a weak hand. "Good throw, Inuzu.. ka-s-san."

Hana frowned, helping him up off the ground. "Hana is _much_ faster to say, you know."

"R-right, sorry," he coughed, shaking off the blow.

"That was a fantastic throw!" Mikoto called from the other side of the room. "Are you okay, Itachi?"

He nodded back, and hana made eye contact with Hasuki across the room, a nervous, yet chastising look on his face.

" _Please be nice to our guest_ ," Hasuki mouthed. " _Show them you have good manners._ "

" _Manners,_ " she parroted back, rolling her eyes as she faced itachi once more. She didn't have time to think about manners fighting someone- even if it was Itachi. Sparring was physical, it took all her brainpower just to block and counter, to think in the moment. If she stopped to think about being nice, then she had time to think about who she was actually fighting at the moment, which meant she had time to worry about the _Uchiha massacre._ Two of the four people in the room were going to die in the next several years- the fact that she knew about it ahead of time while they didn't wasn't fair. It made her feel sick, _guilty_ , it made her feel-

"Ow- _shit_!" She cursed, breaking out of position and clapping a hand over her ear. One eye shut, and another blinking back wimpy, compulsive tears, Hana watched Itachi quickly take a step back, a guilty expression on his face. She _always_ dodged ear strikes. "You got me- I don't think I can hear anything."

" _I'm sorry,_ " he said quickly, watching her awkwardly pat the numb, swelling side of her head. "I thought you'd block that."

Hana wiped away the extra water in her eyes with the back of her hand. "I was a little distracted, I'm good though."

"Why don't you both take a break then," Mikoto said, shooting them an uneasy smile.

Hana sighed and nodded her head. "I can settle for a loss. I don't think I'll be able to focus and fight like this anyway."

Disrupting the senses in a fight, especially ears, usually made it tough to balance and land hits as effectively. While hana's ear was only temporarily deaf, she didn't trust herself to dodge or hit as well anymore. She was just glad Itachi hit her ear, and not her nose. Punching an inuzuka in the nose was grounds for a full on fight to the death. It was their most prised sense, after all.

Both children tore off their padding and made their way over to the table. The tea Mikoto had picked out smelled of honey and rosemary, not as sweet as Hana would have liked it, if she was being forced to have some, but sweet enough for her enjoy the aroma. Hasukī eyed Hana as she sat down, noticing the side of her head starting to bruise.

"How bad is it?" He said, putting down his teacup.

Hana coloured an embarrassed shade of red. "I'll be fine," She stressed, reaching out to grab one of the cookies on the table.

Hasukī slapped her hand away. "Let me see it,"

She frowned, holding her hand to her chest. "I'm not made of glass, it's just a bruise- maybe not even that."

Hasukī huffed. "Kuromaru will _eat me_ if you come back injured, let me fix it,"

"Okay, fine." She rolled her eyes, scooching over so the Inuzuka could fret over her ear. Really, she could tough it out, it wasn't that big of a-

Hasukī's hands lit up with bright green humming energy, and Hana's eyes immediately flew wide open.

 _Healing chakra_ \- when in the world had Hasukī ever learned that?

"Relax," he muttered, pressing the tips of his fingers against the side of her head. "It'll only feel weird for a second."

"Oh! Hasukī-San, I didn't know you were a medic," Mikoto said brightly, "When did you learn?"

"Sometime after Hana was born," he replied, healing any damaged capillaries under the skin and encouraging hana's ear to start feeling things again.

"No kidding," Hana murmured, watching Hasukī's chakra out of the corner of her eye. It was so weird- foreign; almost unnatural. Her mind wanted to reject the energy, but her chakra soaked it up and helped restore her hearing. The stinging had almost completely gone away too.

Freaky.

She shivered. She was still having trouble with accepting chakra, even if it ruled almost every aspect of her life now.

She shoved a biscuit into her mouth to keep from thinking too much. Everything was so much easier when she was working on autopilot. She didn't have to think about war or death or why she existed in the first place (especially as a child. A child! Again! The universe was laughing at her). She didn't have to think about anime, or why she had ended up in another world, where she could interact with fictional characters. She didn't have to think about Mikoto and Itachi's impending death. They were just characters, they weren't _real_ people, and-

-Wait, what? What was she saying?

Had she… been thinking of Itachi as a fictional character this whole time? Had she been extending this to other characters- no, _people_ too? Minato? Shit- _Rin_? Had she even been upset when kannabi bridge happened?

Sure, _war happened,_ and Hana had only been three and couldnt physically do anything, but she _had_ known ahead of time. If she had left a note or something… could that have saved Obito or rin?

And Itachi… He was just a kid...

A kid with a really, really shitty future. But, as of right now… just a kid. She had been resenting what his future-self would eventually become, but wasn't giving his current self a break.

Was the future really set in stone like she had thought? What if… She could've changed things for obito and rin? What if itachi… could be saved too?

She had been acting like his future was fixed, and that he was always going to end up doing horrible things. What if she was wrong? What if she had just been using Itachi this whole time, for nothing? Did that… make her a bad person?

The biscuit Hana was chewing on grew stale in her mouth, she swiped Hasukī's tea and took a sip to wash it down.

"You're welcome, by the way, for healing you." Hasuki muttered, taking his tea back. He turned his attention back to Mikoto. "Anyway, as I was saying before..."

"Hey, Itachi?" Hana said, venturing into unknown territory. Did Itachi have any friends his own age? Did anyone even talk to him in school? Shit. "What do you do for fun around here?"

He blinked at her. "My family has a large library, I spend a lot of time reading there."

That was probably the most _personal_ thing she had ever gotten out of him since they had started sparring, nearly two months ago, and… all she had to do was ask?

Aw man, she was being a shitty person. A shitty friend. A _fake_ friend- Shit! This sucked. His parents knew who she was- he talked about her to his family, and she had been using him to get stronger. A poor, lonely rich kid with an uptight dad and a gorgeous mom.

Damnit! Feeling bad for Itachi Uchiha was not supposed to be a part of her get-strong-quick scheme.

Shit, even calling it a get-strong-quick scheme made her feel awful. He was just a little boy, with feelings and a future she had _no right_ knowing ahead of time. He wasn't the hardened akatsuki member she recognised from her tv, he was a shy, _soft_ kid with no idea how to make friends.

What if… the future could change, somehow?

She could only try.

(Baby Steps, right?)

"I… probably can't go visit the library with you, right?" She asked, getting a definitive nod from the Uchiha. Clan secrets and restricted documents and all. Still, she stood up from her seat. "What sort of books do you read?"

Itachi blinked at her. "Historical texts, clan scrolls, mostly non-fiction."

" _Mostly_?" She said, leaning towards him. "I have a lot of good books at home that I could show you-" he opened his mouth to argue, but she continued. "- _good books_ , with cool, interesting characters. You never know, you might enjoy them."

(Would Itachi like reading some of her romance novels too? They were a little bit… Beyond his years, but maybe later he would enjoy them? All he had to do was say _yes._ )

His eyes flicked toward his mother, who nodded encouragingly towards him. He pursed his lips. "How many books do you have?"

Hana's eyes sparkled. "More than enough to share."

She could make it up to him- She could be his friend despite what the future had in store.

Maybe she could even change it.

* * *

The following day, Hana stuffed six different books into her backpack and dragged them into the living room. She had some of her favourites picked out- a book about Sauna's civil war, but with dragons (a favourite), a novel about a girl from wave, coming to the land of fire and starting a couple more civil wars (civil unrest was a common topic for writing, apparently), two books that explored the lives of historical figures in a fictional world, and one book that hana almost kept to herself.

 _Tale of an utterly gutsy Shinobi._ It was her only copy, and she had kept it hidden away in her room for four whole years. It was one of her favourite books from this world, and was a surprisingly good read, considering who the author was. It wasn't like her romance novels, or anything like Jiraiya's itcha itcha series; it was real, and down to earth. It had its heroic moments, sure, but the characters in the story were more than shinobi on the story- they grieved and felt loss for their actions, and altogether questioned what they were doing in the first place. Something a real shinobi wasn't ever supposed to do.

(together with the book's message of ending war, it sent a refreshing message that Hana really missed; the academy had a bit of a thing for romanticising the military)

Hana slipped the book into her bag. Itachi might get better use out of this book than her, on second thought.

Hauling her bag into the kitchen, Hana paused, watching Hasuki put on his shoes.

"Wait, where are you going? I need someone to watch the Haimaru brothers."

Hasukī winced. "I'm sorry- I would make a clone or something but I don't think it would last that long."

Both turned to watch the Haimaru brothers tear into one of Hana's stuffed toys, ripping it to shreds.

"What about Kuromaru, can't he watch them?" She said, frowning. "Or mom! What about _mom_?"

"You mother… is working very hard with the clan right now before she takes her leave of absence, " he paused, furrowing his brow. "I would've asked her, but she left before I woke up."

(Tsume probably, but most _definitely,_ was avoiding everyone. It was fine, Hana was being the bigger person. It didn't bug her.)

(Really, it didn't.)

" _Nobody_ can leave a shadow clone to deal with them?"

Hasukī shook his head. "I don't know the hand seals for that technique, sorry."

"Fantastic," Hana muttered, watching the Haimaru brothers move onto their next victim: an old thermal sock that Tatsuo left behind. God, how sharp had their teeth gotten by now? Surely they didn't have any more baby teeth coming in. "But why can't _you_ watch them? I can't bring them to school, they can't sit still-!"

"I can't, Mikoto-san asked if I wanted to get some coffee with her today," He said, having the decency to look embarrassed.

Hana raised an eyebrow. "Are you... going on a date with my rival's mom?"

"No-!" He said, the tips of his ears turning red. "She was interested in me learning medicine and wanted to help me with my studies, the Uchiha have a better understanding of the chakra pathway than our clan... And she was really nice about it..." His face turned a light shade of pink.

"Shouldn't you be cozying up to a Hyuuga then? The sharingan isn't as powerful as the byakugan- wouldn't it make more _sense..._?" Hana hummed, and scratched her chin. "Well, I wonder what other reason you must have for visiting Mikoto?"

Hasukī flushed an even deeper shade of scarlet, making his red clan tattoos almost disappear. "She was _really nice_ about it. She said she had a few books she could lend me. You know how much of an opportunity this is? _Do you_ hana?"

"I'm _sure_ she was really nice about giving you those books. _So_ nice." Hana said, giving him a knowing look. Then again... "You know what? I completely understand. Itachi's mom is a babe."

Hasukī spluttered something unintelligible.

"Good luck with her _husband_ though, I heard he's a real piece of work." She said, turning to watch the Haimaru brothers. "Okay boys, come on, Hasuki has a crush and we need to leave the village before he accidentally starts a war with one of the noble clans."

"I don't have a- a..." he faltered as Hana fluttered her eyelashes at him suggestively, making kissing sounds. "I don't! Really!"

"Ah, to be young and in love," She sighed, resting a hand over her heart. She quickly put on a very serious expression. "Just be sure you're safe and don't do anything I wouldn't do. I swear, if you end up having any illegitimate children..."

Hasuki clapped a hand over his mouth and made a choking sound.

"Okay! I'm glad we're on the same page. I'm too young to be an aunt. I wouldn't know the first thing about Uchiha-Inuzuka interpersonal relations, and this seems really personal-"

" _Leave_ ," Hasuki choked out, clutching the counter to keep himself standing properly. " _Now_."

Hana gave him one last wink, before scooping up one of the Haimaru brothers and beating it out the door before things she could embarrass him any further.

"Glad we had this chat!" Hana called over her shoulder, as Hasuki slammed the door behind her.

Turning round a corner and stopping to catch her breath, Hana put a hand over her mouth.

Good lord, what if Hasuki secretly became Sasuke's new dad?

Horror. Absolute horror.

She'd have to keep an eye on Mikoto and Hasuki now, for the sake of _everyone_ involved.

 _Bleh!_

* * *

"Okay, class starts in an hour and a half." Hana said, pointing an accusatory finger at the three puppies sitting in front of her. She'd never admit how long it took her to get all three of them to stay there. "Do _not_ blow this for us."

One of them yipped.

"No- none of that, Misuto." She said, tapping his nose. "You _have_ to stay quiet or else no treats for a week."

All three fattened their ears. The youngest, Kemuri, whined, looking up at her with his big brown eyes.

"Don't you dare," She hissed, drawing back as if she had been struck. "Stop it. Stop it right now, I swear to _god_ -"

He kept whining, a high pitched warbling that practically broke Hana's heart.

"I will dress you in _clothes_. Big awful sweaters and dresses if you don't stop-"

All three brothers started whining, blinking up at her with a combination of brown, blue and black eyes. The middle brother sunk down and covered his head with his big puppy paws, crying big fat alligator tears. Just like she taught them, the little weasels.

"If you don't behave I'll put you in diapers again. Don't think I won't do it." She threatened.

The eldest brother threw back his head and wailed.

"Oh my god- oh my god I'm sorry, okay just _stop-!_ " She said, covering her face with her hands. The Haimaru brothers immediately quit whining and jumped to their feet, wagging their tails at their well-fought victory.

Kemuri licked her elbow, giving her a happy puppy smile.

"You little bastards," she whined, sinking lower into the ground. They started swarming her, vying for affecting and getting right into her face. "I love you _so much_."

They yipped, trying to lick her cheeks.

"-but I meant it about the diapers. If you pee in the school I'll never live it down."

Three pairs of ears flattened against their heads.

Hana sighed. "It's going to be a long day. "

* * *

Fū rolled his pen on his desk as he waited for class to start. Takada-sensei was going to start teaching the class the theory on chakra manipulation, and while he already knew everything the academy was going to teach them, he was much more interested in what his classmates thought of it.

Izumi uchiha was interested in ninjutsu, but lacked the energy for chakra techniques. If she awakened her clan's bloodline ability, he wondered if she'd be good at Genjutsu, if anything. Her chakra reserves were especially low for an if she graduated from the academy, she'd definitely have a lot of trouble keeping up other seasoned shinobi. Shinko Inari, while she came from another country and had a Sunagakure accent, would probably be better off becoming a medic-nin since she tended to shy away from conflict. Tenma, Fū mused, would probably end up being built for taijutsu despite his awful form. He was already a head taller than most of the kids in class, but it was a downright shame that he was too impatient to learn the proper positions. It would probably end up killing him one day if his temper didn't first.

(It was one of the reasons why Fu avoided him. That, and, well… the rest of the kids in class. Fu got bored with people pretty easy, and when he didn't give them attention, he found they got angry.)

There was Itachi, who Fū tended to watch with a critical eye. He was the best in their class and had flawless records- He'd probably end up as a ninjutsu specialist, since he was much smaller and wiry then the other boys. Still, he was young and could grow up to match Tenma's size, but Fū doubted it. The Uchiha body type was much leaner and their chakra reserves were meant for ninjutsu. Though, Itachi seemed to have smaller reserves compared to the other Uchiha he had sensed, but things could change with age, Fu reasoned. There weren't many uchiha prodigies around, especially at such a young age. Seeing into the future wasn't one of Fu's talents.

There was also the case of Inuzuka Hana to think about. She definitely tried to stay in the same league of the Uchiha heir, but there were some things that boiled down to genetics that kept them apart. That, and their _personalities_. While Itachi was quiet and kept to himself for most of the time, Hana was loud and seemed to draw a bit of attention to herself. She always had something weird to say to the other kids- the way she phrased certain things and spoke (with a slight accent too? weird.) made her seem so grown up. It was strange, especially since she was one of the youngest in the class. It made watching her interesting- blackmail aside, Fū had to admit she had caught his attention. He wondered what sort of shinobi she would end up being.

"Sorry I'm late Sensei," Hana said as she slid open the door with one hand. She had her normal backpack strapped to her chest, and on her back was a large travel bag, almost as big as her and… was it _moving?_ Fū narrowed his eyes and watched.

Takada-sensei sighed and set down his book, pausing his lecture. "Take a seat, Hana-San. If you're late again please just wait out in the hall."

Hana gave the old man a mock salute. "Will do, Sensei."

Takada-sensei sighed deeper as Hana started hauling her bag up to her desk. "Now, chakra can be divided into several elements..."

Fū watched her set the bag down behind her chair, unzipping it slightly and shoving her arm in. "What are you doing?"

"Nothing." She said, jerking as something seemed to bite her.

"Hey, Hana-San, what's in the bag?" Izumi asked over her shoulder.

" _Nothing-_ " Hana hissed, shoving her arm deeper into the bad and grimacing. The bag spasmed, something kicking out from inside.

"It definitely seems so," Fū commented, raising one eyebrow.

Hana's eye twitched. "Really, it's-"

The bag yipped.

Hana paled.

Izumi covered her mouth with her hands. "Is that-?"

Fū sighed. "I don't know why I'm surprised."

The bag yipped again- twice, at the same time.

"Are _those-_?" Izumi asked, correcting herself, with the biggest smile on her face.

Hana gave a frustrated groan. " _Yes_ , but can you keep quiet about-"

"Hana-san?" Takada-sensei asked, stopping his lecture for a second time. Every head in the classroom turned to look at her. "Is there something you wish to share with the class?" He looked pointedly at the bag.

Hana shot a look at Izumi, who slapped a hand over her mouth. The Uchiha was practically vibrating in her chair. Fū stared at the ceiling as Hana started to sweat. " _No-_ "

Three identical yips sounded front the bag.

Takada-sensei gave a long-suffering sigh.

* * *

"I _knew_ there was a reason we were friends~" Izumi sang, burrowing her face in puppy fur. The youngest Haimaru brother started licking her hand, loving all the new affection."At first I thought it was because you're _top of the class_ , but now-"

Hana crossed her arms, frowning. "Rude,"

"Dont mind her, she doesnt mean it," Shinko said, before sighing lovingly next to the two of them. The middle Haimaru brother sniffed her hand, tail wagging. "But you _have_ been holding out on us."

Hana covered her face with her hands. She had the third Haimaru brother at her feet, anxiously watching as the class gathered around. Recess had been called early and everybody had been kicked outside, the class of 24 seemed way more interested in the Haimaru brothers.

The eldest ninken yipped at her.

Hana sighed. "There's definitely a lot of people, yeah."

Misuto whined, nudging her leg with his nose.

"A lot of smells too," Hana murmured, watching the other two puppies soak up the attention. She looked down at Misuto. "Why aren't you out there? People _love_ puppies. this should be like, your thing."

The ninken whined, flattening his ears.

"Oh my god, are you _shy_?" Hana asked, kneeling down. He whined as she picked him up, burrowing his head into her neck. "You know it's fine, I used to be shy too and I-" Hana blinked. "I'm having a conversation with a dog."

"You are," Fū commented, sliding up next to her. "An actual conversation, instead of the sort of talk Izumi and Shinko are having."

"You are so _cute_ ~ look at your fluffy widdle puppy paws. Shinko loooooook~" Izumi held up the you gets Haimaru brother on his back legs, making him do a little tap dance. Kemuri seemed to be eating the attention up and gave both girls a playful bark.

Hana cringed. "I don't know if what I'm doing is any better."

Fū shrugged, turning his attention elsewhere. Apparently he was too _cool_ for puppies. What a jerk.

Misuto yipped and Hana made eye contact with him. They both glanced at Fū in sync, the same thought crossing their mind.

"Hey, Fū, _catch-_!"

The Yamanaka jumped as Hana practically threw Misuto into his arms. The ninken was practically the size of a baby, and Fū had no choice but to wrap his arms around the dog to keep him from falling.

"This is not-" Fū blew a tuft of grey fur out of his mouth, only to get an even bigger mouthful of fur a second later. "Hana, come on-!"

"You know what?" Hana grinned as she watched the poor boy struggle. "I think I'll handle all my battles like this now."

"Hana I will drop him- _take your dog_!"

Hana shook her head. "No way- I'm going to find Itachi now and do the same," she gave a sharp whistle and the two other Haimaru brothers bounded over. "Help me sniff out a cat, guys, I want you to meet someone."

The dog in Fū's arms started licking his face.

Whatever ninja Hana would end up as, it'd surely be a pain in the ass. That was for sure.

* * *

 **Bonus bit:**

* * *

"There he is, get him!"

Itachi looked up from his book, just in time to see a blur of white fur "Hana-san, what are you mpH-!"

Kemuri, Sekimaru and Misuto looked up at Hana from their spot on top of the Uchiha heir, and in that moment, Hana truly understood what a dogpile looked like. Itachi, in the moment, also understood what a dogpile was.

Hana knelt down next to him, gloating as the Uchiha tried to spit out a clump of fur. "I really wish i had a camera right now."

'How are they shedding so much _hair?_ "

She shook her head, patting Itachi's head as one of her ninken started licking his face. "Long haired dogs, man. Shedding isn't a thing they do, it's what they _are_."

Itachi's eyes widened, and he looked at her with horror. "I'm wearing _black._ "

Hana winced. "Oooh- sorry, there's nothing I can do now."

Kemuri kept licking Itachi's cheek. "What will my _mom_ say?"

"Tell her to say hi to Hasuki? Your mom might be fake-dating my babysitter." Hana shrugged."You're in the arms of the angels now. I take no responsibility for this."

Itachi closed his eyes, and accepted his fate. Death by dogpile was a pretty nice way to go, all things considered.

 **XOXOXO**

 **End of Chapter 12**

 **A:N** I really really didn't want Hana's first reaction to him being like, DUDE LET'S BE BEST FRIENDS when she knows all the stuff he eventually does. Who knows, maybe things won't be so bad this time around~ This story is like, 80% about diverging from canon and changing things. Itachi's future is just the first of many.

Anyway, tell me what you think in the comments! Next chapter might take a bit longer because i have to write it from scratch, but i'll try to get it in soon. Thanks for reading!


	13. Chapter 13 - Untraceable

My island got hit by a heatwave and my place doesn't have any air conditioning, so the hot air has been making me lazy. Sorry for the late update!

Disclaimer: you know the drill already, i don't own anything but this story.

* * *

 **Chapter 13 - Untraceable**

* * *

Okay, if Hana was going to actively change Itachi's future, she had to do it right.

Which meant plotting-

No, wait, planning. Plotting sounded like she was trying to ruin his life with some sort of evil plan. She was trying to do the opposite; Save Itachi, stop the massacre, and make sure nobody ever laid a hand on Mikoto's beautiful head.

And…. maybe she could figure something out to save sasuke? Hana didn't know. She hadn't exactly planned out her future much. For the past seven years of her life, she had basically just went with what life had to offer. The first year had basically just been getting used to her new body, and the rest had been… adapting to the situation? Did she have any plans at all? Sure, she wanted to get super strong, and be able to beat anyone that tried to come after her, but what was the point of becoming a super sanin if she didn't have any plans of meddling with the future?

A lot of bad shit was going to happen if she didn't do anything about it. And she… had an obligation to do something, since she knew it was going to happen ahead of time.

 _Shit, did that mean she'd have to fight Orochimaru?_ Hana shuddered, drawing her blankets tighter around herself as she wrote down her plans in her notebook. If the time came she ever had to fight the snake… Maybe she'd just get Itachi to do it. He had done pretty well up against him in the future, right? If she could just… throw the Uchiha at him, maybe orochimaru would leave her alone.

Actually no, that was a horrible plan. She couldn't use Itachi as she saw fit- he was a human being with feelings, and Orochimaru wanted his eyes. No, if she wanted to meddle with the future, she would have to do things herself.

Once she got that sorted out and written down in her notebook, she was at a loss.

Where… to even begin? The Uchiha massacre happened because of Danzo, and his secret underground cult… She didn't have a chance of getting into ROOT as she was now, and she had even less of a chance getting into ANBU being a potential clan heir. There was no way Danzo could get to her as he did with Itachi, because her clan had more of a foothold in the village; a better reputation than the Uchiha after the Kyuubi attack.

Plus, she had no intention of joining ANBU and becoming someone's lap-dog. Hana couldn't ever submit to the unquestioning, die-hard attitude that so many people had in the village. Maybe it was because she came from a democratic, western society, but damn it! She really didn't like the fact that the Hokage was basically a Dictator. There was no vote by the people! Minato had basically become an all powerful lord because he kicked a lot of ass and took a lot of names.

Speaking of which…. Minato Namikaze was still alive right now.

That's right- The kyuubi attack hadn't happened yet! The Uchiha clan had lost so much of their reputation because the Hokage had died; What if It didn't _have_ to be like that? What if she saved him somehow?

It was pretty ambitious of her, since she was _technically_ seven. She didn't have enough chakra to fight against low-level shinobi, let _alone_ a nine tailed fox. Christ, she'd die of exposure before she even got close to it. No, there had to be some other way to interfere without putting herself in danger. If she died, or got hurt, so badly that she couldn't heal afterwards…. Well, there was a pretty big chance she'd never become a ninja. In fact, if she got too involved at all, she'd probably get obliterated, and die a horrible, painful death.

And wasn't that a nice thought?

But she wasn't going to let herself freak out about it anymore, because she had a plan of action now. If she shied away, Itachi and the rest of his clan would suffer just like before, and countless _other_ people would die.

She'd have break a personal rule of hers if she wanted things to go her way, but there was no other solution.

She'd have to write a strongly worded letter.

* * *

Izumi and Shinko had been enjoying the summer sun, pleasantly eating lunch together, when Hana sat down and threw her papers all over the place.

Izumi raised an eyebrow at her. "Hana, what are you- PUPPIES!"

Both girls proceed to ignore the Uchiha's squeals of delight as the haimaru brothers swarmed her like the little affection leeches they were.

"Are you working on a project, Hana-chan?" Shinko asked, watching Hana as she took out a pencil and started scratching at her paper with an almost desperate aura to her. "Hey, I didn't know you were ambidextrous. I thought you wrote with your right hand."

Hana frowned. "I do. I'm trying to learn how to write with my left, though."

"Oh," Shinko said, as one of the haimaru brothers started licking Izumi's face, making the girl fall over backwards in tears. Neither of them paid her any mind though. "Why?"

Hana huffed, dropping her pencil. "Well, besides being a handicap in taijutsu, there might come a time when i need to do something really important with both hands. Or maybe even my left.."

"Thats… intresting?" Shinko said, though her tone said she really didn't get the point. "Why are you practicing now?"

"I… well, ugh..." Hana didn't exactly know how to explain what she was doing without… er… making herself look suspicious. Learning how to write with her left hand wasn't crustal her her plotting- er, planning, but she wanted to write a letter to the hokage, and she couldn't afford to let her handwriting be traced back to her. There were too many chances of being caught, and ninjas were damn good at investigating.

"What are you writing anyway?" Izumi asked, pulling herself up off the grass and pulling the white dog fur out of her dark brown hair.

Hana quickly balled up her paper. "Absolutely nothing."

The Uchiha's eyes sparkled. "Ooooooh~ Is is a _love_ letter?"

Shinko, damn her, was also drawn in by the chance that their classes youngest prodege could have feelings for someone. "Is it true? Is that what you're writing?"

Hana frowned at them. "Why is that the first thing you guys assume? I could be writing a secret message to the hokage for all you know."

Izumni scoffed at her. "Obviously it isn't that, of all the people in our class, you're the last person id expect writing to the yondaime. Don't you hate him or something?"

Hana shifted uncomfortably. "I… don't know what youre talking about. What if I changed my mind and love him now?"

Shinko squinted at her. "Yeah… I don't buy it. Tell us what you're _really_ writing about Hana-chan!"

Hana quickly crunched the paper up and stuffing it down the front of her sweater. "What letter? I don't know what youre talking about."

Both girls had somehow managed to read eachother's minds, because the next moment, Izumi and Shinko were both tackling Hana to the ground. The Haimaru brothers kept a safe distance away, barking and overall just enjoying watching the three strange humans tussle on the grass. It was nice to see their master get served. In fact, the haimaru brothers decided that it would become a regular thing.

(They didn't forget the days they spent in diapers. They'd never forget.)

Hana got an elbow to the face, and clawed at the ground as Shinko held her still. "Get off, That letter doesn't concern you!"

"We'll see about that," Izumi said, shoving her hand down the front of Hana's shirt. "aha!"

Hana made a face, glaring at her as the brunette held up the piece of paper triumphantly. "It really isn't any of your business, you know."

"Why were you hiding it from us then?" Shinko asked, arms still securely fixed around Hana's waist.

Hana grabbed one of Shinko's braids and tugged on them until she released her. "Absolutely nothing. I was just practicing my handwriting, is all."

"Uchiha, Uchiha, Uchiha," Izumi read out loud, scanning the crumpled up paper in her hands. "Fox, fox, fox- it's just a poorly written list, why were you being so secretive about it?"

Hana shoved her hands into her pockets. "No reason-"

"-OOH, no, wait, there's more!" Izumi exclaimed, making Hana's eyes go wide and try to grab the paper out of her hands again, only for Shinko to catch her. "Once upon a time a beautiful and fearsome kunoichi challenged Tobirama to a fight on the top of the hokage monument. Through wind and hail the two fought each other, until Tobirama finally fell to his knees and admitted defeat. Victorious, the kunoichi took him home to her clan to… make him her _bride?_ " Izumi put down the paper. "Did you… just write self-insert _fanfiction_ of the Nidaime?"

Both girls looked at Hana, whose face was as red as her tattoos. "I swear, it was just for practice, It wasn't for real!"

Shinko let Hana go, staring at the inuzuka with a blank expression on her face. "You know what Izumi-san? I think we should've left Hana's paper alone."

Izumi took another look at the paper. "It… keeps on going…"

Hana blushed a deep scarlet. "W-what, you think I have some sort of fixation on Tobirama or something? It was just a fun little project, i swear!"

Izmui's eyes trailed further down the paper. "You… have kids with him… and everything…"

"Adopt! We adopt kids!" hana squeaked, before realising what she was saying. "I-I mean, the character in the story adops kids with him. I- I wouldn't honestly write a story where I romance the Nidaime, _really_. It's just a story!"

Shinko went to stand beside Izumi, clutching a corner of the paper with strangely calm hands. "Does this story… have your entire lives planned out in it?"

Hana flushed a deeper scarlet. "Not at all! W-why would i do something like that? Psh, obviously you're reading too far into it, g-give it back now!"

Izumi and Shinko let her rip the paper from their hands, and watched in stunned silence as Hana balled it up again, shoving in her mouth.

"Is she actually going to swallow that?" Shinko said out loud, asHana struggled to force her mouth closed.

Izumi tiled her head to the side. "How about... We all forget this ever happened."

Hana nodded her head, humming in agreement, before spitting out the soggy paper ball onto the ground. The haimaru brothers, who had been forgotten by all three party members up to this point, sniffed it, before taking it upon themselves to shred it into pieces.

With her secret plan safe, once again, Hana packed up her things for lunch and headed inside to class.

"Hana's a bigger nerd than I gave her credit for," Izumi muttered, watching her walk away, ninken trailing after her.

Shinko started packing up her things too, looking over her shoulder to watch Hana walk inside as well. "At least she makes recess interesting, right?"

Izumi made a face. "I don't really know if that's a good thing all the time, Shinko-chan."

* * *

Okay, there was absolutely no way Hana could write her own letter to minato with her horrible handwriting. Even using her good hand, it was too messy, and people could track her with it. No, the only way Hana could stealthily write a letter, was if she used someone else's handwriting, and made sure it was untraceable. She'd have to remember every single thing she ever learnt off marathoning old crime shows in her past life.

Which meant she had to go buy some old magazines after school.

Slinging her pack over her shoulder, and whistling for the Haimaru brothers to follow after her, Hana made her way towards the middle of konoha's market. She didn't want to lose her ninken in the crowd, or get lost at all, so she stuck to the inside of the sidewalk and made sure she didn't get too turned around. There were always so many confusing scents in crowded places, and Hana's sense of direction hadn't really improved much since her previous life. She had basically let everyone else in her past-life guide her to each destination, and had shied away from getting her driver's license altogether because she didn't trust herself one bit to find her way home.

Thankfully, Hana made sure to pay special attention to each roadsign she passed in case she got lost. And if all else failed, she could start fake-crying and ask an adult or a stationed Uchiha policeman for a way home.

Actually, seeing one there, standing amongst the cluttered carts and busy shoppers, Hana felt a pang of guilt in her chest. If she didn't end up changing the future somehow, the young man with shoulder length, wavy hair would end up dead before his twentieth birthday.

Hana shuddered, making her way past him to another newspaper stand. _Knowing what was going to happen ahead of time sure was tedious._

"There she is," a boy whispered to his friend, silently trailing after Hana in the market place. "What'do you think she's doing?"

"Probably something weird," Tenma muttered, narrowing his eyes at her as she stopped by yet another magazine rack. "What use does she get out of gardening books?"

A third boy, with big thick glasses, frowned as she paid the women manning the sop, tucking the magazine into her bag. "I don't know- she picked up seven different papers along the way, and then got an old book on the ethics of beekeeping."

Tenma scowled, motioning for his two friends to keep following her as she moved on, her three ninken trailing after her. "She's so weird- why is she even in the market district today? I thought she'd be cozying up to that Uchiha runt."

"Maybe she's planning something?" his friend with the glasses asked, carefully navigating his way around a couple who just so happened to get in his way. "I thought I noticed her giving books to Itachi last week."

"Yeah, but beekeeping books? Gardening?" Tenma scoffed. "Unless the brat decided to make his own flower garden, I'd say the Inuzuka's up to something."

"Do you think she'd stop by and get some flowers?" said his other friend, with dark tan skin and a shaved head. "My mom said i'm allergic to pollen- I don't want to have another allergy attack."

"She's not going to buy flowers, idiot," Tenma growled, elbowing him in the side. "If she goes in any stores, we can't follow her in- what do you think we're doing, Eji? Escorting her around the market? No! We're tailing her like ninja! That's means we have to be stealthy!"

The tips of Eji's ears went red. "S-sorry, Ten-san."

"And don't call me that either," Tenma frowned, crossing his arms over his chest. "I'm your leader, you gotta call me boss."

"Hey, boss?"

Tenma turned around to look at his other friend. "What?"

The boy nervously adjusted his glasses. "She wants to talk to you."

Hana waved at him, "whats up, Ten-san?"

* * *

Hana crossed her arms over her chest. "Look okay, if I had known that you'd jump four feet into the air, land on a nearby cart, spilling lemonade everywhere, I would've given more of a warning beforehand."

"Yeah, well, you didn't," Tenma muttered, trying to wipe the lemonade off himself before it dried and everything got sticky.

"It was an impressive jump though, boss," Eji said, standing off to the side with his other friend. "Even if the store owner guy didn't like it, I thought it was great!"

"I don't care," said Tenma, already feeling the sticky sweet lemonade seep through his shirt.

"You should learn to take a compliment," Hana said under her breath, before putting one hand on her hip. "What were you doing following me?"

Tenma averted his eyes. "I don't know what youre talking about."

"Didn't you just say we were tailing her?" Eji said out loud, earning another elbow to the side from his friend. "Ow! Umino-san, what was that for?"

"I did it, so he didn't have to." the boy said, adjusting his glasses once more.

Hana raised a coy eyebrow at tenma, who still refused to look at her. "Really? And to what do I owe the pleasure of having you act as my shadow, Ten-kun?"

Tenma's face coloured in indignation. "None of your business- go back to buying your stupid magazines for the Uchiha and leave us alone."

Hana raised both eyebrows now. "What makes you think I'm getting newspapers for Itachi?"

"Isn't everything you do about Itachi?" he said, tossing his lemonade rag to the side.

Hana blinked at him. "Ugh… no?"

Had she been a little bit… preoccupied with uchiha stuff since she started the academy? Was that really all she was known for?

If only her friends from her past like could see her now. How _embarrassing._

"Why don't I believe you?" tenma said, basically nailing the nail on the head. He leaned a little bit closer, narrowing his eyes at her. "You're not one of those… fangirl… types, are you? Because that's real creepy."

Hana scoffed looking awkwardly away from him. "Pfft, obviously not.., We're just sparring partners. And friends. I'm buy magazines for something totally different." she cleared her throat, looking at all three of them as they awkwardly stood next to an abandoned cart.

The haimaru brothers sat by her heels, licking a puddle of wasted lemonade, and it suddenly occurred to Hana that scenarios like this… were perfect opportunities for bullies? Like, a group of older kids, who dont like her or the people she hung out with, tailing her after school. It spelled danger for Hana, except that Tenma and his friends… really didn't scare her that much. Maybe it was because she had made tenma scream so loud, he put a rooster to shame, or maybe because she was mentally older than all of them… either way, she dug out her coin purse and gestured to the market.

"Do you guys wanna get some food or something? I have some extra money, and I'll pay for all of you."

Tenma looked at her suspiciously. "What do you get out of it?"

"I just thought I'd make it up to you for scaring you." Hana shrugged, adjusting her hold on her bags. She had maybe… fifteen pounds of newspapers stuffed in there? Having a chance to sit down would be fantastic. She smiled at him. "Besides, you guys must've been following me for a while- we could get ice cream or something, or maybe ramen if you're actually hungry."

Tenma blinked at her. "Ugh… ramen?"

"Sweet!" Hana said, clapping her hands together. "I know just the place, follow me!"

And with that, she was off, haimaru brothers trailing after her. Tenma hesitated, watching her leave.

Eji looked at him, tilting his head to the side. "Aren't we going to follow her, boss? She said she'd buy us _ramen_. Free food. From a girl. What do we have to lose?"

"Our dignity, or worse, if it's some sort of trap." said Umino, peering at the inuzuka girl through his glasses. He looked to Tenma for guidance. "Do you think she's going to trick us?"

He pursed his lips. "If she does… we can take her on. Doesn't matter if she has a couple ninken, she isn't big enough or fast enough to fight off the three of us."

Hana turned around and waved at them. "Are you guys coming? I don't wanna end up at Ichiraku's all alone. I might get lost or something..."

Tenma sighed, and followed after her, his two friends grinning when he finally made up his mind. "I'm not going to hold your hand and be your babysitter, if that's what you want."

Hana snorted, walking alongside him on the sidewalk. "I do just fine by myself. Besides, I already have a great babysitter at home."

He raised an eyebrow at her. "Your parents don't make time to look after you? What kind of clan head doesn't care about their kid? lame."

Hana shrugged one shoulder as they turned a corner, readjusting her grip on her bags. "My mom works really hard to look after everyone in the Inuzuka clan. Sometimes she can't watch me- its fine. I'm mature enough to be by my own now."

"What about your dad?" Tenma asked, shoving his hands into his pockets.

"I can't really count on him to do anything," Hana said, shrugging again when tenma looked at her funny. "What? It's not like everyone has a perfect family." they turned another corner and were greeted by the ramen stand. "Aha! I knew it was this way! Come on!"

Tenma glanced at his friends as Hana dragged him over to the counter, pulling out her coin purse again. _She didn't even know where she was going? Ugh._

He jerked away his arm when his friends caught up to them, shoving his hands into his pockets. "I don't want to stay here long."

Hana climbed up on one of the stools, pushing her money forward as the man behind the counter smiled and gestured to the menu up above them. "Thats a shame- the best food here takes a little while to cook."

"Aren't we going to hang around?" Eji asked, looking rather upset at the thought of dining and dashing.

Tenma huffed and made his way over to a stool. "Fine , whatever- but you're paying."

"Great!" Hana grinned, waving to Ichiraku to place their order. The stand wasn't very crowded as all four of them settled down only two or three other people sitting down at the booth as Hana started talking animatedly with their server. Tenma's eyes glazed over when she started talking about different seasonings with the man, but he paid enough attention at the end for when they actually started talking about what they wanted to eat.

Eji was the first to speak up. "I'll have pork with mine, please."

Umino looked at the menu again. "Do you think I could have extra scallions on mine? And spinach, If you have some?"

"No problem," said their server, winking at him. "My daughter likes spinach in her bowls too."

Hana pursed her lips, turning to the boy. "Hey- you said you name was Umino? Is that you last name? I think I might have heard of someone with a name like that before."

He shrugged. "I have a cousin in the academy a couple years under us. Iruka?"

Hana nodded understandably. Wasn't Iruka an orphan after the kyuubi attack? _Shit. shit shit-_ she really hoped the kid sitting next to her wasn't going to die soon. Damnit- she couldn't even have lunch with a couple kids without worrying that one of them was going to die.

Meanwhile, Tenma struggled with the menu. "And… can I get bacon bits with my noodles? And green onion- but sliced thin. I don't like it when they look like actual vegetables. Can I get some egg added too? But don't put it in the actual broth- it ruins the taste. Oh- and make sure the bacon is crunchy, or else it won't be good enough later."

"Whoa, whoa, slow down," the server said, bringing out a notebook. "Go back to that part about you wanting custom noodles?"

Hana slapped tanma on the back. "I didn't know you were that into ramen, Tenma! Why didn't you join in on my conversation earlier about broth density? Im sure you would've liked it!"

Tenma frowned at her. "I just like my food a certain way. Why would I have wanted to talk to you about soup broth?"

Hana shrugged. "I dunno, cooking is hard. Ichiraku is an artist- he takes his craft very seriously."

The man in question nodded his head ."That I do, Hana-san."

Someone waved at him down the counter. "Do you have my order ready yet, Ichiraku-san? I gotta get home before my husband starts wondering where I am, ttebane."

He quickly went over to her side. "Ah! Not to worry, Kushina-chan, I have your food right here."

Hana's jaw dropped. "Kushina-chan, as in… _Uzumaki Kushina_?"

Tenma also openly gaped at the redhead paying for her food. "As in the Red-Hot Habanero?"

Hana had stars in her eyes as the woman smiled at Ichiraku, handing him a couple bills. "Actually, I think it's the Red-hot _blooded_ Habanero. It's easy to forget- since, you know, she looks so _cheerful_ paying for her food and and all."

Tenma elbowed her in the side, still staring at Kushina. "Does it actually matter? Shes right there. My parents told me stories about her- isn't she the Hokage's husband?"

Hana looked at him. "Wife. she's the Hokage's wife."

"What did i say?" Tenma blinked in confusion as hana broke away from the table, following after Kushina . "Wait, where are you going? we still have food to eat!"

Hana waved a hand behind her, her ninken following after her. "I left my wallet on the counter- I'm just going to talk to her for a bit! I'll be back!"

Tenma glanced back at his friends, already being served their respectful bowls. Sure, he wanted to follow after Hana and meet the Hokage's wife like anyone else, but…. Free food, right?

He went back and took a seat, eyeing Hana's remaining bags and... her _wallet_ , which sat alone on her vacant chair. He should probably... put that somewhere safer, right?

* * *

Uzumaki Kushina made her way through the marketplace, fully aware of the fact that she was being followed, but made no attempt to slow her pursuer down. The girl had to be young- maybe six? Seven? Far too young to be a shinobi, but then again, training did occasionally start young for some kids. As cute as the child was, Kushina wasn't going to let her guard down.

"Um… excuse me?"

Until the little girl spoke, and Kushina's heart _melted_.

Turning around far too quickly, Kushina looked down at probably the cutest little Inuzuka girl she had ever seen, with three tiny fluffy _puppies_ trailing after her. That was it. Minato would understand if she was late coming home; she had far too good of a reason for stopping. Kushina quickly cleared her throat. "Ahm, yes? Can I do something for you?"

The girl- bless her socks- looked up at her with wide, honey brown eyes. "I-I just wanted to say, miss-"

"-Kushina, sweetie,"

"-Kushina-san," the girl said, in that _adorable_ accent of hers. "Your hair is the most beautiful shade of red that i've ever seen."

Arrow to the heart, Kushina nodded as the girl kept talking.

"I...also know you're a ninja, and I really admire you for being that. My mum says Kunoichi have to stick together, and I want to be like her someday, so I thought I'd… ugh...say hi."

"T-Thank you so much, that really means a lot to me, ttebane," Kushina said, putting a hand over her heart to steady herself. If only 13 year old her could hear this now- good god, what a confidence boost. Whoever this kids parents were, they were raising her right. "Who's your mother sweetheart? Maybe I know her."

"Tsume Inuzuka," said the brunette, barely flinching when Kushina cried out in recognition.

"I know her! We were in the same graduating class together!" she gave the Inuzuka an appraising glance, looking her up and down. "You must be Hana, right? Tsume-san speaks so highly of you whenever i run into her! Wow- I can't believe you're her daughter, ttebane!"

Hana scratched the back of her head. "Hah, I didn't know I was so well known- and by the red-hot blooded Habanero no less."

Kushina tried not to jump for joy. Most days she was just addressed as the hokage's wife- Hana inuzuka was _such_ a cutie. Would Tsume get upset if Kushina adopted her daughter? She certainly wouldn't mind having the girl around more.

Hana kept on talking. "Do you and my mom know each other really well? I haven't met many of her friends. She doesn't really mix work with home stuff."

"We haven't spoken in a little while, but the two of us got along pretty well when we became kunoichi," Kushina said, shrugging her shoulders. "It feels like _forever_ since we sat down and talked- what's your mother up to these days?"

"Managing the clan and debating with relatives, mostly," Hana sighed. "She's taking maternity leave in a little while though- so she's pissed about that."

Kushina clasped her hands together. "She's going to have another kid? Thats amazing! Maybe my kid will be in the same class as your little brother or sister, ttebane!"

Hana froze. "Y-you're pregnant?" she forced on a cheerful smile. "T-That's fantastic! You look great-! Glowing, even. The Hokage is a lucky man."

"You know what? He is." Kushina grinned, patting Hana on the head in an affectionate manner. "He was so _flighty_ when we found out we were expecting. Can you imagine that? Hokage of the entire fire nation, freaking out over the concept of being a father."

Hana chuckled nervously. "I can imagine being nervous- pregnancy kinda freaks me out."

Kushina looked off to the side. "To be honest… I'm not really looking forward to the labor pains…" she waved a hand at Hana though, wiping away any nervous energy she might've let out. "But you don't care bout that, right? Babies and stuff doesn't happen for a long time for you- you're so young and all."

Hana gave her a dull shrug. "I'm going to be clan heir one day- I've already gotten 'the talk'. I'm honestly not looking forward to that part of my life."

Kushina gasped. ""B-but you're so young! I thought kids were supposed to get the talk when they're twelve or something- that's when i got it, ttebane."

"Apparently, I needed a brief explanation after I got my ninken," Hana said, gesturing to the Haimaru brothers by her feet. "My babysitter really didn't have a good time answering all the questions i threw at him."

Kushina put a hand on her shoulder. "For his sake, I'm sorry."

"It was probably one of the worst days in his life," Hana nodded. "Do you have any idea if you'll have a boy or a girl?"

"Honestly? I have no idea," she said, scratching the back of her head. "If he's a boy, i dont think ill have any problem getting along with him. I was a pretty big tomboy growing up, ttebane." Kushina pursed her lips. "If I have a girl, i might have to try a little bit harder coming up with names… I can't trust Minato to come up with one, because his names are always so horrendously long. You know he named a technique of his the _Halo Hurricane Jet Black Arrow style Zero?_ How do you say that in battle? How am I supposed to name a human being with him coming up with names like that?"

Hana shook her head, grasping Kushina's arm. "Do _not_ give him that much power. Kushina-sama, Id feel much better sleeping at night if you named him after ramen or something. At least then the world would be safe from _Halo Hurricane Jet Black Arrow_ Uzumaki."

Kushina snorted, covering her grin with the back of her hand. "I _really_ should take that to heart. Do you think I could get away calling my future kid soba? Udon?"

Hana shook her head. "I think maybe you should sleep on it."

Kushina nodded, looking at the girl with appraising eyes. "Thanks for coming up to me, Hana-chan. I really enjoyed meeting you."

Hana blinked at her. "Do you have to go?"

She nodded, holding up her grocery bags. "Yeah- if I dont get going soon, Minato will miss me." She turned to leave, before pausing. "You know, if you ever need some cool, older sister figure to talk to about… anything, really..."

Hana gave her a little smile. "I'll track you down." she pointed to the three ninken sitting patiently by her feet. "I have help."

Kushina laughed, grinning at all four of them. "I'll leave it to you then. Thanks for saying hi, Hana-chan."

Hana grinned back. "No problem."

* * *

 _Oh no, oh no oh no oh no. This was bad. This was really really bad._

"You're back!" Tenma exclaimed, hopping off his stool. "The other guys had to go home- what took you so long?"

 _This was so bad. So, so bad._

Tenma narrowed his eyes at her as she robotically bent to pick up her bags. "Hey- what's up with you? Why aren't you saying anything?"

Hana paused, reaching for the spot her wallet had been. "This is really bad."

"What?" Tenma blinked at her, before straightening up. " _Oh_ \- no, I put your wallet in your backpack. You were taking so long, so I just thought…" he took another look at her. "That's… not what you were talking about."

"I'm in so much trouble." Hana murmured, putting her backpack back on.

"Don't be so dramatic, just say what you really mean."

Hana looked him dead in the eyes. "I really really like Kushina."

He sighed and rolled his eyes. "Is that all? I thought someone died or something."

That didn't seem to improve Hana's mood, as she clutched the traps of her backpack until her knuckles went white. "I really _really_ like her _._ "

"You already said that." He huffed.

Hana looked down at the ground. "She said she's expecting." she looked back up at Tenma. "What if something unexpected happens? What if they get hurt somehow? This is too much pressure."

Tenma rolled his eyes so hard he could've sworn he saw the back of his head. "Listen, you just met the lady, I doubt you'll even see her again, so chill out a bit, okay? " he clapped her on the back, making his way out the stand. "Your food got cold while we were waiting, so Eji ate it." He looked back at her, shifting awkwardly. "I'll pay you back later, okay?"

Hana nodded at him. "No problem… thanks for hanging out with me."

Something crossed his face, before he turned on his heel and left, leaving Hana alone at the ramen stand, a bag full of newspapers in her arms.

She looked down at them, a heavy feeling in her chest.

She _really really_ didn't want Kushina to die.

If she wrote a letter to the Hokage, made out of cut out characters from her magazines, could she really change things?

 **XOXOX**

 **End of Chapter 13**

 **A/N:** Hana's decided to break canon, Izumi and Shinko realise Hana's a bigger nerd than they thought, Tenma isn't so bad after all, and the countdown for the kyuubi attack has started! Fun stuff. Im super excited for when that time comes- I have _so much_ planned ahead of time.

Anyway- tell me what you think in the comments! I spend a good chunk of my week writing for each update, and reviews are pretty much my only reward for a week or two of solid typing. See you next chapter! Thanks for reading!


	14. Chapter 14 - By Your Side

This… is gunna be a bigger chapter. Mainly because i'm rewriting everything again and i wanted certain stuff to happen in this chapter without ruining the tone. alsO, Minato/Kushina parts were added because i've gotten incredibly attached to both of them and don't have control over this story anymore. So, you know, here's a bunch of fluff i had no idea belonged in this fic.

( if the letter bit is hard on the eyes, just say the word and i can change it, no problem.)

Disclaimer: you know the thing already

* * *

 **Chapter 14 - By your side**

* * *

T **o** t _h_ **e** **Yo** n _da_ ime, **an** d t _o w_ **hom i** t ma **y co** _nce_ rn,

 **Sev** era _l mon_ ths **fro** m **no** w, a _n_ a **tte** _mp_ t w **ill** be m _ade_ on **th** e H _oka_ ge' **s lif** e an _d h_ i **s wif** e, us _ing_ th **e po** w _er of_ th **e n** _in_ e t **ail** ed _fo_ x. T **his p** _erso_ n i **s fam** il _iar to_ Ko **noh** a, a _nd_ **wil** l us _e t_ he w **eaken** ing _of_ t **he cu** rr _ent Jin_ juri **ki's se** al to th _eir_ a **dvanta** ge, _tur_ ni **ng the** bi _ju_ u o **n Kon** oha a **nd c** a _us_ in **g inc** _redib_ le d **amag** e. I le **ave** you **th** is l _ett_ er in _the_ **hop** es th **at th** is w _on't h_ appe **n, and** th _e h_ ope **that no** b _o_ d _y_ i **nsid** e t _he_ vill _age_ ta **ke** u _nnec_ **essa** ry bl _am_ e. Oc **tobe** r te _nt_ h d **oesn** 't h _av_ e to **be t** he d **ay of** _a memo_ r **ial an** y _more_.

S _ta_ y st **rong** , s _ta_ y **sa** _fe_.

 **Sta** y _ali_ ve.

 **A f** _rien_ d.

Minato had been staring at this piece of paper for _hours_ now. It didn't make sense.

Or, actually, it made a lot of sense. Too much sense. Far too much coming from an anonymous source. A shinobi's greatest tool was secrecy, and whoever wrote that letter had blown through _so many layers of security_ , it wasn't even funny anymore.

They knew who the Jinjuriki was. They knew about a secret plot on his life. They knew the date of when it would happen, and the fact that the seal on Kushina would weaken when she gave birth to their child.

 _Who was expected to come in early october._

Minato had been chilled to the bone when he had first gotten his hands on the letter, tucked carefully between the branes of a tree, a couple blocks away from his house that morning. The ANBU patrolling the area hadn't been monitoring the tiny, unsuspecting park where it had been found; Nobody suspected a death note to show up in some random corner of the village. The placing was too much of a coincidence, but the civilian who found the letter had told the truth about not knowing where it came from. The man was just a scared, innocent baker. Hardly the type to write foreboding letters that told the hokage someone was planning on _murdering_ him using his wife and his unborn child. The six hours spent investigating him had been a waste of time.

Minato dropped his head to his desk with a hollow _thump_. He had been up for thirty two hours now, hardly resting. The entire investigation unit had been turned upside down trying to squeeze more out of the letter they had been given. Fingerprints, chakra impressions, anything. He had even gotten members of the inuzuka clan to try and see if there were any scents affiliated with it, but no. Whoever placed the letter was apparently ahead of them, sprinkling the piece of paper with baking powder and charcoal to erase any lingering scents. This informant knew far too well what sort of lengths the village would go to find clues, and minato felt like repeatedly hitting his head to a wall every time another lead on who the message came from went cold.

 _Signed, a friend._

What sort of friend wrote untraceable letters, threatening him and his family? What sort of things would a person have to do to have such an intimate knowledge on this plot, and his life? The sentimentality of the letter was more frightening than a good portion of what it actually described. Was the informant close to him? Could he really trust anyone where he was sitting?… Minato had very little idea what to do next.

He hadn't even been hokage for very long. Less than a year, tops, and there was already a ridiculously overcomplicated plot on his life. The whole thing wouldntve shaken him so much if the damn thing had just decided to keep his family out of it.

 _Ugh._ Minato had a headache just looking at the thing.

It was written in such a… creepy way too. It reminded him of a ransom note, or the sort of thing a serial killer left behind for one of his victims.

 _October tenth doesn't have to be the day of a memorial anymore._

Anymore? As in, it was before? As far as Minato was aware, nothing happened on October tenth. It was right between an old, foreign holiday in Iwa that celebrated, and a lesser known holiday a couple days later, called _scream in frustration_ day, which…. Sounded pretty good to Minato right now. And probably the rest of the people working on decoding it, down in T&I. They had been trying so, _so_ hard to find out more, but came up with absolutely nothing. Maybe Minato should move screaming in frustration day forwards a couple months. Make it a national holiday.

"Minato, you haven't moved since I was here yesterday. Have you slept since then?"

Minato wilted the concerned, slightly exasperated voice of the Third Hokage. "I'm fine, Sarutobi-sensei, thank you for worrying about me."

"Well someone has to," The Sandaime sighed. "Running yourself ragged over one simple death threat will tear you apart. Please tell me that note isn't getting to you, Minato."

Minato looked off to the side. "No it isn't," he murmured, staring down at his trashcan, which had about a dozen piled up and trashed notes. "I'm fine, really."

Hiruzen raised an eyebrow at the blonde. "You sure fooled me. Is that why I heard you speaking profanities to slip of paper a little while ago?"

"I have everything under control," Minato said, forcing himself to look at the former Hokage in the eye.

The Sandaime let out an exasperated sigh. "Go home Minato. You've done all that you can- I've contacted Jiraiya, you've got your entire task force killing themselves trying to figure out a postcard. Your commander is already planning out evacuation tactics, and I'm pretty sure I overheard Shikaku Nara speaking in third person about mysterious postage people. Everyone else is losing their mind already, the only thing you can do now, to save yourself, is go home and get some _rest_."

Minato wilted, falling back into his chair. "Is that the only thing I can really do, Sarutobi-Sensei? it doesn't feel right to just… Doing nothing while Konoha is in danger. After you, I swore an oath as Hokage to take care of everyone- how am I supposed to do that if I'm hiding away at home?"

"I'm glad you're taking your position as my successor seriously," The Sandaime said, placing a hand on Minato's shoulder. "But you _can_ relax a bit. The letter didn't say the attack would happen today. You still have several months until your family is in danger. Until then, _breathe._ Youve been blessed with the gift of foreknowledge- don't waste your time exhausting yourself like a newly minted genin."

"I know, but…" Minato sighed.

"You worry for the life of your wife and child," the elder acknowledged, dropping his hand. "I understand. Kushina is a formidable shinobi, but a child is… a whole other matter."

Minato looked up at him. "I'm terrified my first act as a father will mean their end. What if they don't make it out alive? What if… what if they _do_ , and nobody is left to take care of them?"

Hiruzen nodded, running a hand through his beard. " I suggest creating a fallback plan. Have you considered asking someone to be the child's godparent?"

Minato pursed his lips. "I… hadn't thought of that. Do you think I could ask Jiraiya-sama?" Minato straightened up in his chair. "O-Or you, Sarutobi-sensei- I'm sure you'd be a wonderful guardian! but... I wouldn't want to spring this on you though- if Jiraiya-sensei isn't up to it..."

"Its up to you," the sandaime said, shrugging his shoulders. "I would speak with your wife beforehand. She _is_ aware of the plot against her life, correct?"

Minato froze. Had…. he left his office in the past twenty four hours?

Oh _no_

Hiruzen sighed as the Yondaime disappeared, a desperate hirashin home. If he didn't know any better, Minato was a second away from bringing the wrath of the nine tailed fox upon himself.

 _At least he'd be a couple months learly_ , Hiruzen thought fondly, observing the empty office with a bittersweet feeling in his chest.

If Minato put as much compassion into being a father, as he did being a Hokage, well. Hiruzen didn't think he had any reason to worry about the young Kage in the first place. Now, Jiraiya being a godfather? _That_ was something to worry about.

* * *

Hana was _panicking_.

She wanted to hide under her bed. She wanted to _scream_ \- She wanted to do a whole lot of things, mostly involving throwing herself off the Hokage monument.

 _What_

 _Had_

 _She_

 _Done_

Hana whimpered, balling her hands up by her sides. This was so fucked up- where were the Anbu? Why wasn't her door being beaten down by armed militia? Why wasn't she being subjected to Yamanaka mind torture? _She had told someone about the future_ \- why wasn't reality breaking, or going up in flames or something? **why was everything so** _ **normal?**_

Hana had wanted to go back to the park and tear up the note before it was ever discovered. Well, no fucking longer. That was a dead zone- ground _zero._ There was no way she could go back there for the rest of her life. There was probably police tape, or armed guards, or… Or…. Something? There had to be _something_ going on. School had been cancelled for the day, people had found her note- why weren't houses getting searched? Things were _too damn_ normal for Hana. She had just broken one of the biggest rule in her own personal rule book.

Rule number one: **You don't fucking tell people about the fucking** _ **future**_ **.**

Jesus Christ, Hana felt so bad for Minato and Kushina. They didn't even know the whole story, because Hana's letter had been so brief and careful dishing out information, but… they still knew ahead of time that someone was gonna try to kill them.

God, she couldn't even do anonymous tipping right.

It had taken her seven hours to come up with a good enough copy, and had probably taken a few years off of Hana's life span. God, just thinking about making, and then placing the letter made her antsy. She couldn't ever, ever be outed as some sort of future teller. That just painted a giant target on her back that hana really didn't want to have, considering the sort of people existed in this world.

Was it selfish of hana to keep life-saving information to herself, when dangerous criminals roamed the earth? Maybe. But she had already risked so much writing that stupid letter to Minato- screw being selfless and handing out more information, Hana was keeping her mouth shut from now on. Sooooo many things could go wrong now. Obito could attack early, or capture the Ninetails, or decide to start the fourth shinobi war decades early because of one stupid slip of paper.

God. So many things could go wrong.

And Hana was just so… not good with this incognito thing? She was horrible at lying and keeping a straight face, and she just wasn't cut out for keeping things to herself. Not only did Tenma and his friends follow after her when she went to go get materials for the stupid letter, she literally told Shinko and Izumi she was writing to the Hokage.

Why was she so bad at this kind of thing? Why did she somehow _want_ to suffer?

Past hana was a dick to her future self. Now, she was gardening and gathering materials for a beehive because someone was suspicious about the books she was getting, and she couldn't keep a secret to save her life.

Now, she had spent four consecutive days playing around in the dirt, just to cover up her tracks. She had gotten hanging baskets, tulips- even one of those tacky little plastic flamingos for her back yard. There were flower beds filled with lavender and snapdragons, daylilies and some sort of shub called spiraea, that had little white blossoms all over it.

Hana had never hated flowers more.

(Ironic, because, you know, her name.)

Sure, there was a sense of accomplishment that came with rearranging her backyard, transforming it into a sweet smelling garden of exotic blossoms; but she didn't do it for funsies. Buying flowers and jamming them into the ground had basically been Hanas only way to keep a hold on herself. People gardened because it was supposed to be a calming, peaceful thing to do to chill the fuck out and be one with nature. This… this was the opposite. This was Hana gardening like her life was on the line, and in a few ways, it really was. Now, the gross, bubbling sunburn Hana had gotten, the dirt under her nails, the sweat and labour… none of it was actually worth it once she was done. Now Hana was left panicking without anything to keep her occupied, and it scared the ever living shit out of her.

What had she actually done? Hana didn't know! She had thought leaving a letter would help things, but now all she knew was that the definitely changed things- but she didn't know if that was a good thing or a bad thing.

Sighing and letting herself collapse onto the porch, Hana hung her head and took a second to breathe. Okay, the sky hasn't fallen down and crushed her yet. No wrathful god, or Anbu, or Madara had swooped in and killed her on the spot. So far, the world had kept spinning without anything terrible happening. Chances were, the world would keep… you know, doing it thing, and Hana's letter would actually save lives.

Unless some invisible clock was ticking down to the end of the world, ana hana would close her eyes and find out she died some horrific death she couldn't remember. Or, hey, she might end up in a fictional world, where tv characters came to life and she had to start life all over again as a baby.

She had started her second life without any rhyme or reason, maybe if she messed with the world too much, she'd disrupt the universe and make something horrible happen. It was anyone's guess, right? Hana didn't have the answers.

"I cant believe youre doing this," Someone said inside the house- Tsume? Who was her mother talking to? "After everything we went through- you think you can just decide one day to drop all of your responsibilities and leave?"

A man scoffed- was it Hasuki? No- _dad_? "Pfft- look at you, ranting about responsibilities like you know what youre talking about. Dont kid yourself Tsume."

Hana crept over to the sliding glass door, suppressing her chakra so her parents couldn't tell she was eavesdropping.

Her mother actually growled at him. "I'm not the one running away with his tail between his legs- god, Tstsuo, if I had known you'd be such a fucking coward, I wouldn't have let you get so far with me in the first place."

Hana heard someone groan. "You always do this- don't you think we've had this conversation before? I'm so tired of going around in circles with you Tsume. I'm tired of all of it- god, you've gotten so- so-"

"So _what?_ "

"Aggressive! I settled down with a woman who didn't care about her clan, or leading people into battle, someone who understood that I didn't want children, who I could just be with without all this extra baggage attached. Somewhere along the way, you changed."

"You don't think I know that?" Hana heard Tsume take a step forward. "I _had_ to change to fit what the world wanted from me. Kunoichi? Clan head? Soldier? Last remaining member of my family? Absolutely. Don't blame me for adapting to my fucking situation, Tatsuo- I would've _died._ Maybe you should ask yourself why didn't you change?"

Hana scrambled over to the window, just in time for her to see Tatuo put a hand on his forehead. "Jesus- not everything has to be so dramatic. You're not the first woman who had to lead a clan, making this into another debate about gender or _whatever_ you're making this argument into isn't going to change things."

Tsume narrowed her eyes at him. "So what are you going to do?"

"Get my things," Tatsuo said, striding past her to their bedroom.

Hana let go of the windowsill and covered her mouth with her hands. Oh god, this was it. Her dad was doing it- he was actually leaving.

And it was totally and completely her fault.

Taking one last look inside, hana watched as-

Oh god. Was Tsume actually crying?

Those were tears in her mother's eyes. Angry tears, but-

Oh. okay, Hana couldn't watch this.

Hana was absolutely not hanging around to see her mother cry. Absolutely not. The guilt was already eating her alive- Jesus christ, she was out of there.

Hana vaulted over one of her newly made flower beds, just in time to hear something crash through the window she had just been standing under, snapping all the new daffodils planted underneath.

(Thank god the window had been open beforehand.)

"God, Tsume! You're acting like a fucking child! Go get my bag!"

"Are you going to _make me?_ No, we're talking about this, _right now_."

Han had already whistled for the Haimaru brothers to follow after her as she hopped over the backyard fence, making a beeline for the outside of the clan grounds. She wasn't planning on coming back for a good… couple hours, at least.

* * *

 _Thunk. Thunk. Thunk. Thunk._

Itachi lowered his bow and ignored the stinging in his arm as he made his way over to his target.

Two of the four arrows had glanced off the old worn archery board, and had ended up stuck in the ground. He frowned at them, looking back up to his other arrows, which stuck true to their aim, in the second innermost ring.

Father would expect better from him, obviously. Missing the target half the time wouldn't bring the clan any good standing within Konoha, and Itachi couldn't settle for having a mediocre skill, when members of his clan mastered the bow with ease.

It didn't matter if he was young, he needed to improve his skills now. Father had great expectations for him, and Itachi couldn't let him down.

Marching back across the shooting range, Itachi drew another arrow, pulling back the string of his bow, taking aim. He took a deep breath, steadying himself; he had to let his arrow fly straight, with enough force to it-

But then, Hana jumped down from a nearby tree scaring him half to _death_. "Hey Itachi, I-"

 _Twang-_ the arrow flew out of his grasp, embedding itself in the bark of the tree, right next to Hana's head.

All the colour drained out of Itachi's face. "I am so, _so_ sorry, Hana-san, I-"

"-Its fine, It's happened before." She said, barely even flinching, before breaking the arrow out of the tree hand tossing it back to him. "Are you practicing right now? Sorry for dropping in out of the blue."

Itachi caught the arrow with one hand, keeping his eyes on her as Hana as she went to sit down, her ninken appearing by her side a moment later. "Yes, I'm practicing- is everything alright? You've never… shown up unannounced, before…"

Hana looked up at him from the ground. "Oh- do you want me to leave?"

"No-! I just… I'm just surprised," Itachi said awkwardly, unsure of what to say, should he accidentally hurt her feelings. He still wasn't used to having people around his house, let alone the whole… friend thing… friend didn't usually almost shoot their guests with arrows, right? Itachi was already letting Hana down.

He held the arrow awkwardly in his hands. "Do you… want to talk to me or something?"

 _Why are you here?_ Went unsaid between the two, and Hana shoved her hands into her pockets.

"I just wanted to get out of the house is all," she said, avoiding eye contact.

"Oh," Itachi didn't exactly believe her, but he didn't know how to go about getting the truth. Instead, he shuffled his feet, and struggled to come up with something to say. "Do you… Want to do target practice with me?"

Hana blinked at him. "Oh, I-" she cursed, patting her belt absentmindedly. "I left my knife pouch at home, I can't."

"Do you want me to wait for you to go get it?"

Itachi didn't miss Hana's flinch. "No- no, it's fine, I'm happy watching for today. You can go on ahead and shoot or whatever."

Slowly, he nodded and turned his attention back to the target across the field. He knocked another arrow, pulling the string back as far as his arms would let him.

Was something going on in Hana's home? What would make her act so strangely all of a sudden? Itachi hadn't noticed anything going on at school, beyond a slight change in behavior towards him; she had been more enthusiastic when sparring with him, and had started bringing him books from her own personal library. What was going on?

 _Twang_ -!

The arrow slipped from Itachi's fingers and embedded itself in the dirt three feet away from the target. If cursing was allowed in his house, Itachi already knew a few choice words to say.

"Tough luck, man," Hana said as she got up from her spot to go get the arrow. Handing it back to him, she shrugged. "Are you breathing irregularly while you're shooting? I'm pretty sure it puts off your aim. Your hands are pretty shaky."

He blinked at her. "Have you used a bow an arrow before?"

Again, she gave him an awkward answer. "I-I mean, I've read a lot of stuff about it maybe. I don't know where I heard that bit."

Itachi hesitated, before handing his bow to her. "Do you want to try yourself?"

She pursed her lips. "Are… You sure? I mean, this is like, your private training time or something; I don't want to take that away from you, or, ugh, impose."

Itachi shook his head. "No, go ahead. I was having trouble shooting before you came. Maybe if I watch someone else, I'll get a better grasp on what to do better."

Hana gingerly took the bow pushed into her hand, accepting the quiver a second later. Deciding to give her a bit of space, Itachi padded over to the spot where Hana had been sitting, awkwardly greeting the Haimaru brothers as they lounged under the shade of the tree.

The youngest ninken- (Kemuri? Itachi didn't have the best grasp on their names yet) licked his arm as he sat down.

Hana held the weapon awkwardly in her hands, knocking an arrow only after fumbling with the string for a few seconds. She looked uncomfortable and rather unfamiliar with the way she was holding the bow, but took a shot at the target anyway, missing by a rather wide margin.

Hana's face flushed an embarrassed shade of red. "It's been awhile since I used one of these..."

"But you _have_ shot a bow before?" Itachi asked, getting up to grab the stray arrow before one of the Haimaru brothers did.

"Once or twice," she said, as Itachi tossed the arrow to her feet, giving her space as she pulled out another to fire. "I'm really not that good at, ugh, weapon skill stuff."

Itachi blinked at her. "You do really well when we're asked to practice throwing kunai at school."

Twang-

The arrow just missed the target, clipping the wood on the side, breaking off a few splinters. This time, one of the Haimaru brothers went after it, and Itachi accepted the arrow's fate as a new puppy chew toy. He hoped they were smart enough not to eat the arrowhead- it wasn't even sharp, just small enough to be swallowed by a dog.

Hana shrugged and handed him back the bow. "It took me years of practicing to even throw a kunai straight. The only reason i'm better at it than some kids is because my hands don't shake when I do precise stuff."

"And how do you do that?" Itachi asked, taking back the bow.

"I draw a lot," she said, shoving her hands into her pockets. "It's hard to make clean lines on a paper if your hands keep shaking."

That… actually made a lot of sense. He handed the bow back to her. "Try shooting a bit more- I'm sure you'd get better at it eventually."

Hana made a face. "I dunno- I mean, you're the one who's supposed to be practicing right now. Won't your dad get upset with you?"

"Archery isn't a skill shinobi are supposed to have- I'm just required to get better at it because my clan favors it as a hobby." he looked back towards his house. "I could get another bow, actually. We could practice together."

"What, and get shown up by you?" Hana asked, raising an eyebrow. "Count me in."

* * *

Minato ended up crashing through a screen door, accidentally plunging a hand through the wall.

(Thank god it was only paper)

"Minato-!" Kushina exclaimed, getting up from her seat next to Mikoto. "What are you doing here? I didn't think you'd be outside your office at all."

Mikoto shot him a pleasant smile as Minato pulled his arm out of their wall. "You're welcome to visit, of course. If the decor has done anything to earn your… Wrath… I apologize."

Minato blinked at her. "I- what? Oh! Oh no, I'm sorry, that was my fault. I'll pay for it to get fixed. Sorry for just dropping in like this, Mikoto-san, and…" He looked pointedly at the third member of their party, a young man.

"Hasukī inuzuka," the boy said, respectfully bowing his head towards to Hokage.

"Inuzuka-san, yes. Sorry for intruding, I just wanted to speak with my wife for a moment. We shouldn't take too long."

Mikoto nodded and got up from the table, gesturing for Hasukī to follow her. "Would you like to see the library, Hasukī-san? There's a book on chakra flow that I'm sure you'd love to see."

"Y-yes! I'd love to, Mikoto-sama. The last books you showed me were especially good to read.." The boy had stars in his eyes, quickly following her out the door.

Minato picked up a throw cushion, shoving it in the hole his arm had busted through, before putting up a hasty privacy seal. "I need to talk to you about a letter I got a little while ago.."

Kushina sighed, letting her shoulders drop. "I know- Shikaku Nara already told me the details." She pursed her lips, looking up at him. "I _was_ sort of hoping you would be the one to tell me, but… I get that being Hokage has to come first, ttebane."

Minato's eyes widened, and he knelt down next to her. "No, no no- _I'm_ sorry. I should've come to you first thing. I Iet my job come before my family, when it was you and our child who were in the most danger. I am so, _so_ sorry Kushina. Can you forgive me?"

She gave him a fond look. "Minato- I _get it_. I understand. We're okay-" she gestured towards her, slightly visible, baby bump. " _We're okay_ too! Nothing happened, and Shikaku has been updating us on every development since you got the letter in the first place. I've been hanging out with Mikoto just to keep myself busy for the past few hours while you've been gone. _It's okay._ "

Minato crumbled, wrapping his arms around his wife. "I'm _so glad."_ Kushina snorted and returned his hug. "I can't imagine a world without you. I am so, so sorry this is happening right now."

Kushina swatted at his arm, pulling away from him. "Hey, I know what I signed up for when I became a jinjuriki, and when I became your wife, ttebane. You don't have to keep apologizing for something completely out of your control."

He sighed. "I… I know, but I just wish it wasn't happening in the first place. I'm sorr-"

Kushina put a hand over his mouth. "Nope, no more saying sorry. I've already forgiven you Minato Namikaze. Unless there's something _else_ you've done wrong that I don't know about, me and soba here are done talking."

"Soba?" Minato said through her fingers. "You're naming our child after noodles?"

Kushina flushed an embarrassed pink. "I'm still working on coming up with names. Mikoto hasn't exactly been that helpful- she said I should name them something _powerful_ or awe inspiring. You know she's already picked out names for her next kid? I think she did it just to one up me. Hasukī-San had been a little bit more helpful, saying we should name our kid Tsukemen, Shirataki or Sōmen if I want to stick with my noodle trend."

Minato blinked dumbfounded as she kept talking, only realizing a second too late that she had stopped. "I-uh, are you? Going to stick with noodles, I mean, because I had a couple-"

"No way!" Kushina exclaimed, pointing a finger at him. "You've been banned from naming our child, ttebane."

Minato gasped. "What? Why?!"

Kushina frowned at him. "Seven words: Spiralling Flash Super Round Dance Howl Style Three."

"Wait- that Jutsu is awesome! What's so wrong with the name?"

"Don't even get me started…" Kushina put a hand on her forehead. "I actually want to be able to say my kids name in a single breath."

Minato scoffed. "You can… obviously do that with that jutsu. How am i supposed to use it in battle if i can't say all the words?"

"You don't." his wife shot back, poking him in the chest. "That technique has been sitting in your arsenal for months, and you've only ever used it on the battlefield twice because you keep getting interrupted."

"I… can abbreviate it…." Minato said weakly.

Kushina raised an eyebrow. "And what? Call it the SFSRDHST? No, this just proved my point, ttebane. You have lost all baby-name privileges for the rest of your life."

Minato wilted. "Okay okay, but you can't name them after noodles. That's just giving kids an excuse to bully our kid."

Her eyes flashed. "Our child is going to be the son of the hokage, and the child of the red-hot blooded habanero pepper! There's absolutely no way a schoolyard bullies would ever dare picking on them, I won't allow it!"

"Maybe you shouldn't give them a reason to in the first place," Minato murmured, lest he incur the wrath of her fiery temper, even talking about hypothetical situations such as sthis. When Kushina felt strongly about something, she went hard.

Thank god they were married, Minato never wanted to find out what it would be like to oppose her. The red hot-blooded chilli pepper… chilling.

He loved her so much.

"But… if I don't have the noodle theme, i have no idea what to do!" she said, suddenly looking very lost. "I can't come up with a name for a child- they're gonna have that for the rest of their life, ttebane! What if it doesn't suit them? What if they hate it?"

Minato sighed and wrapped his arms around his wife once more to comfort her. "Maybe we should ask a couple more outside sources. You said Mikoto and that Inuzuka boy gave you a couple examples? Maybe I should ask Jiraiya…"

Kushina stilled in his arms. "I think I would rather die than have you ask the pervy sage."

Minato winced. "Fair enough…"

* * *

"Don't you ever get lost in your house? This place is like a maze." Hana asked as they padded down yet another polished hallway, an extra bow and quiver strapped to her back.

Itachi frowned at her. "You're the one leading us- I thought you knew which way you were going?"

Hana shrugged one shoulder, turning another corner. "I'm operating off of scent alone- hey, did we take a left past the room with the ink smell, or a right by the closet with iron polish inside?"

"I… have no idea. I can't smell through walls."

Hana shot him a look over her shoulder. "I can't either- I'm just trying to track down the right path- how many people go down this hallway everyday? They all smell the same."

"I couldn't tell you even if I wanted to." Itachi tilted his head to the side. "Wait, Is that why you stopped five minutes ago to sniff the air outside the kitchen? For tracking?"

"No, i did that because someone made cinnamon rolls." Hana pointed to a hallway, branching off to her left. "We can try this way- if all else fails, i'm jumping out one of the windows. This place smells like a wax museum and its making me antsy."

Itachi padded after her. "Whats a wax museum?"

 _Crash-!_

A hand burst through the paper wall next to Hana's head, making her jump three feet in the air.

"Minato! I cant beleive you- a second time? _really_?"

The arm was quickly withdrawn from the hold in the wall. "Oh no- Kushina I _really_ didn't mean to do that. Please don't tell your friend."

"Well, Mikoto's gonna see it eventually," Kushina said as she strode over to inspect the damage. Peering through, she was met by the sight of two terrified seven year olds staring back at her. "Hey, is that-"

"Kushina-san?" Hana said, taking her hand off of her heart. "What are you doing here? Shouldn't you be at, ugh, home? Taking care of yourself or something?"

What about the letter? Why was Kushina looking happy? And… not in her house, where it was safe?

Itachi kept staring at the hole. "That was an antique..'"

Minato came up to Kushina's side. "Are you talking to people through the wall? Whats going on?"

"Everything's fine." Kushina said, shooing him back to give herself some space. "Mikoto's son Itachi is here- and…. His friend? Are you two friends? That's _so_ cute, I had no idea, ttebane!"

Hana's eyes widened.. "-is your husband here right now? The _H_ _okage_?"

"The hokage just punched my house?" Itachi said numbly, now peering through the hole next to hana to get a better look.

"Listen, I'm… ugh, really sorry for all the property damage i did," Minato said awkwardly, as Kushina moved out of the way so both kids could look at him through their new little window. "I… should probably get going before i do any more damage. Kushina, you tell Mikoto that i'll pay for the cost of a new wall, okay? We can talk later at home."

Kushina sighed and gave him a quick kiss on the cheek. "Okay- but if you're leaving me to survive Fugaku's wrath, I'm expecting a fancy meal when I got home. And foot rubs. My services don't come cheap."

"But it's a price i'm willing to pay," minato said, rolling his eyes. He sent a last minute wave to Hana and Itachi, apologizing for scaring them, before disappearing without a trace.

" _Hirashin_ ," Hana said out loud, her jaw dropping to the floor. "T-that's… just…. wow…."

"I didnt think id ever see it up close like that…" Itachi said in wonder. "The power of the Hokage..."

"I guess," Kushina said, running a hand through her hair absentmindedly. "You should've seen him figuring out the seal when he first started out- much less smooth and flashy."

The image of Minato Namikaze flinging himself across Konoha made Hanas heart clench. What an absolute nerd.

He was way too young to die.

Forcing on an air of calm, Hana turned her attention back to Itachi. "Do you still wanna practice shooting a bow?"

He shook his head. _Thank god._

"I should tell my parents that the Hokage was here. My father, at least, would like to know about…." He awkwardly gestured to the hole in the wall. "Why this… happened."

Kushina padded over to the screen door separating them, pulling it open. "If that's the case, I might as well go with you, ttebane." She turned to look at Hana. "Are you going to stay? Hasukī-San is here as well, I heard you two were close."

"We are," she answered, slinging off her quiver and bow. " Itachi?" She handed the equipment back to him. "We can pick this up later, okay? I…need to sort some things out at home."

Itachi didn't exactly look surprised, but still shot her a concerned look. "It may not be my business, but… Did something happen?"

Her dad was leaving. It was completely all her fault. There were _tears_ in Tsume's eyes and Hana _bailed_ on her. _Something had definitely happened_ , but Hana didn't know if she should say anything.

"I… Ugh…" Hana looked between him and kushina, a lump forming in her throat. "U-ugh… My… Ugh… Mom.."

Kushina strode over to Hana and knelt down to her level. "Sweetie, is there something happening between you and your parents? Do you want someone to come with you back home?"

Hana's eyes widened. "No-no! It's fine, really. It's not about me, it's just…" she sighed.

Itachi awkwardly shuffled his feet. "If you don't want to go back, I could ask my parents if you could stay..."

That… Was a super sweet gesture. Hana felt even _more_ guilty for treating him so poorly. _What a nice kid._

Hana looked back at Kushina. _She was so nice too_ \- UGH, Hana didn't deserve all these nice people, saying nice things. _Caring_ for her- they had no idea she was trying to manipulate their lives into something else. Kushina and Itachi deserved someone who genuinely needed their fluffy, friendshippy feelings. Hana…

Hana could do this on her own.

She shot them both a bright smile. "It's okay guys, you don't have to worry about me." She quickly darted forward to give them both an awkward, half-hug. "Thanks for being there for me; Kushina, Itachi, I'll see you later, okay?"

Kushina looked rather conflicted as Hana drew away, a stock-still Itachi by her side. "Are you sure everything's okay?"

"It isn't," Hana shrugged, taking a few strides down the hall. "But it will be. I gotta go be there for my mom now, okay? I'll see you around."

And with that, she took off down the hallway, whistling for the Haimaru brothers to meet up with her outside.

Kushina pursed her lips. "This place is like a maze- does she know which way to get out of here?"

He shook off whatever shock he had been in, pursing his lips. "She does not."

 _Crash-!_

Itachi gave a long sigh. "I'll tell my father we need another window too."

* * *

The house was quiet when Hana got home a couple minutes later. She had… basically sprinted home, but besides being a little chakra exhausted, she was relatively okay. A little windblown. And really, really guilty.

Honestly, Hana would've felt a little bit better if the house was actually in pieces, or on fire. The lack of chaos was…. Different. She had spent seven years on this new Earth surrounded by a whirlwind of energy and mayhem- coming back to an empty, quiet house meant that something was very, _very_ wrong.

Also, you know, the image of Tsume with tears in her eyes were very very wrong. So wrong in fact, Hana could still see it fresh in her mind as she ghosted through the house, trying not to make a sound, lest the silence be broken. Who knows, bumping into something might make everything a thousand times worse.

Then again, that'd be the second time she had made things worse, right? How bad could things _possibly_ get?

Well Tsume could kill Tatsuo. Or summon a giant wolf dog to wreck everything. Or maybe join the Akatsuki, abandoning Hana to a future of someday fighting her own mother.

How messed up was that? Jeez.

In times of stress, Hana's imagination really liked to knock it up a notch.

Pushing the screen door open, Hana padded out onto the back deck, wringing her hand as she spotted Tsume sitting out in the garden. She was just… sitting there in the grass. Looking at the little yellow tulips arranged amongst the flowerbed Hana out together herself yesterday. Her hand was in the dirt, absentmindedly rolling a piece of turf between her fingers.

Jesus christ, Tsume was _broken._

Hana slowly walked down the stairs. "Mom? Are you okay?"

Tsume looked up from the flower bed. "I didn't know you liked to garden."

Well, that was totally avoiding the question, but hey, Tsume was talking to her. Hana awkwardly shrugged her shoulders. "I-ugh, Yeah. I thought I'd garden to get rid of some… unnecessary stress."

"Oh," Tsume said, looking back at the tulips. "Did it do any good?"

"Not really," Hana admitted, creeping closer to her. "I started feeling better though when i went to find someone to talk to." She got a little bit closer, sitting down in front of tsume on the grass. "Is he really gone mum? For good?"

Tsume put a hand on her forehead. "I don't know… It feels like it."

"Do you… want him to come back?" hana asked, pulling out a couple blades of grass absentmindedly. "I could try to talk to him…"

Tsume gave a weak snort. "I know you talked to him before, it's okay. We can just… leave him alone. I don't care anymore."

 _You obviously really do,_ Hana thought, pursing her lips. "I'm really sorry mom. I wish… I wish it didn't come to this."

Tsume gave her one, long hard stare. "Tatsuo- he told me what you said to him. That you asked him to leave. That we don't need him around." she sighed, dropping her gaze. "I mean- yeah, sure, we don't need him to survive, he wasn't around much anyway, but… He's your dad. You're _supposed_ to _want_ him around."

Hana felt a knot form in her throat. "I-I just… i wanted _you_ around more. Sure, I bet Tatsuo was a great guy when the two of you were younger, but… he wasn't my dad, not how you're my mum."

Tsume rubbed one of her eyes. "Mum- that's adorable. Have you been calling me that this whole time?"

Hana gave an awkward shrug. "I dunno, it just happened one day."

She small, weak smile on Tsume's face melted away as another thought crossed her mind. "How long did you stick around before going to that Uchiha friend's house?"

Hana blinked at her. "I- how could you tell i went to Itachi's?"

Tsume tapped her nose. "S'not that hard to figure out. Uchiha all smell like ash and wax."

"I know, right? They all smell the same, it's crazy," Hana said, nodding her head. What a weird thing to have in common with an entire clan- Itachi and his family were weird. Clearing her thoughts of wax museums and fire breathing cat clans, Hana looked back at her mother. "I left, ugh, when you threw Tatsuo's bag out the window."

Tsume covered her face with her hands. "God- i'm so sorry you heard anything beforehand. That was… that wasn't good of me. I don't ever want to have you hear your parents fighting- it's the worst."

Hana opened her mouth to say something, but stopped when she saw her mother's expression. "Are… you speaking from experience?"

Tsume sighed. "My parents- your grandparents, well. Ugh, i dunno. You might've guessed already that our clan aren't exactly a group of cool and collected people. I was the only girl in a group of boys. We fought a lot."

Hana had never met any uncles or grandparents before. "What happened to them?"

"War." Tsume said, a ghost of a whisper on her lips. She didn't have to explain to Hana any further, and Hana scooched forward to sit beside her mother, brushing up against her arm. Tsume gave her daughter a weak smile. "You never really understand how important family is until it's gone. That's why…" she took a deep breath, looking out at the bed of tulips again. "I really wished we could've worked things out with Tatsuo. You and... Your brother or sister deserve to have a father."

"Hey," Hana bumped Tsume's arm, getting her mother to look down at her again. "We'll be okay, all right? I meant what I said before, when I told Tatsuo that we can survive without him. I have you to be my mother, and my sibling will have me, and we'll both have Hasuki to watch after us when you have to work again." Hana gave her a weak smile. "And we all have Kuromaru and the Haimaru brothers with us. With so many dogs, there's no way we can go wrong?"

Tsume didn't looked so convinced. "I hope so."

The smile fell off Hana's face. She… she really wished she could make things up to her mother. At some point along the way, Tsume had really become her mother in the end- not just some woman who gave birth to her. Tsume was her family, when Hana had been ripped away from her old one, seven years ago. She didn't know when or how, but Tsume, Hasuki and Kuromaru… they were the first people to fill the void her old life had left. Family was _so_ important- it didn't matter if they were blood related or not, or if Hana had known a family beforehand. They were everything to her, and it felt like a personal offense that Hana didn't know what to say to make things better.

All she could do was try her best.

Hana leant into Tsume's side, resting her head on her shoulder. "Whatever happens in the future… I want you to know that I'm sorry for everything that's happened. For arguing with you… and getting you put on maternal leave… I know you an Tatsuo didn't want kids, but I'm so, so glad that you did, because you're the only person in the whole world I'd ever want as my mother. You're everything I want to be when I grow up mum, I love you, and without a doubt in my mind, you are my _hero_ for trying to be there for me despite all the stuff you've gone though. We can make it through this together."

Now, Tsume was blinking back tears. Hana had to keep herself from feeling back a second time at the sight. Shit, shit- Had she said something wrong again? Tsume wasn't supposed to _cry_.

Before Hana could say anything else, Tsume had captured her in a crushing hug. "God, I don't deserve you," she murmured into hana's hair, her arms squeezing all the air out of Hana's chest. "How did i get so lucky? I'm pretty sure other seven year olds aren't so good at making people feel better."

Hana awkwardly patted Tsume's back. "Well, ugh-" she coughed. "-I'm your daughter after all. I got all my special skills from you."

Tsume pulled away from her, wrinkling her nose. "Liar. I'm pretty sure I'm not that sensitive."

Hana flushed an embarrassed pink colour. "Y-yeah, well, I'm an enigma. Maybe I got it from Hasuki, who knows."

Tsume snorted, before gesturing for Hana to get up off the grass. "Come on, we should get inside. It's what, four in the afternoon?"

Hana looked at her. "It's six thirty."

Tsume winced. "Then I've been sitting outside for far too long. Come on, Tatsuo left a drawer of shirts inside and i'm still up for being petty about him leaving if you are."

"Are we going to throw them out?" Hana asked, giving her mother a hand up, lest her pregnant mother struggle on the ground herself.

Tsume shrugged, dusting off her pants. "I was thinking about burning them, to be honest."

"Hasuki would tell us to donate them to charity…" Hana said softly, shooting her mother a look that told her just how much han _didn't_ want to do that.

Tsume shot her back a knowing look. "We can donate some socks…"

"Maybe the shoes too," Hana nodded, opening the door and letting Tsume walk in ahead of her.

The two of them eyed the master bedroom.

There was a juvenile joy that rose in Hana's chest at the thought of tossing all of Tatsuo's things in the fire. It was a total waste, and Tatsuo have been given every opportunity to be a better person, but…

Fuck it. Burn the extra clothes. Burn them all.

Tsume put a hand on Hana's shoulder. "You grab as many pairs of shorts you can- just know that every single pair of underwear you see belong to me. I'm saving them for last."

Hana's eyes twinkled. It was good to have her mom back.

 **XOXOX**

 **End of Chapter 14**

 **AN** : I just want to say i really appreciate all the sweet reviews I've been getting, and the bits you guys leave behind about yourself and how you enjoy this story. I'm touched that you guys enjoy it, and every time I get a notification that someone faved, reviewed, or followed PH, it brings a smile to my face. Writing for you guys is a joy. Thanks for reading this chapter- i'll try to get back to regular updates soon! See you next time!


	15. Chapter 15 - Leaf Training

Edited last chapter since there were a couple spelling errors. Hopefully i caught them all- i end up editing these chapters until like, 5am so sometimes small mistakes like that get away from me.

Disclaimer: I write for my friends (Ike pose)

* * *

 **Chapter 15 - Leaf Training**

* * *

Tsume paused her shinobi career and stayed home more.

There was the odd meeting she had to attend to, because she couldn't just send someone in her place, but she managed. Gonza was pissy and gave her hell for taking time off, but members of the clan adjusted for Tsume's maternal leave. There were fewer skirmishes between clan members, fewer trades going wrong, a decrease in noise complaints from neighbours, and all in all, it seemed as if everyone in Hana's weird extended family were doing their best to give Tsume a break.

You know, besides Gonza and his supporters. But, of course, there were always going to be people looking for trouble in any community.

The Inuzuka clan… were like hairy, dog-loving jocks. They weren't refined, they didn't really care for etiquette, and they liked action instead of paperwork and flowery words. Sure, they were a little rough around the edges at times, (especially some of the clan members Hana had heard about, preferring to live out in the forest, living off the land and rejecting anything looking close to a razor) but her clan _cared_. A person wasn't born into the Inuzuka clan, they were accepted first, and brought into the family. They looked after their own, and when someone needed a bit of help? Say, an unplanned pregnancy made a couple split up- Family looked after one another.

And that came in the form of gift baskets. Home cooked meals, the entire clan acting on its best behaviour for the next couple months while Tsume was down for the count.

And Tusme was _completely_ embarrassed by it.

"It's not like I'm made of glass, I can still do things you know," she huffed, setting _another_ casserole down on the kitchen counter. "I don't even know what I'm going to do with this- Freeze it for the next two years? We have enough food stockpiled up to last the rest of our lives!"

Hana sent her a smug look from the couch. "People care about you"

"I wish they would _stop_ ," she groaned, throwing the dish into the freezer. "It's demeaning and implies I'm not capable enough to cook for my own family. I'm not crippled."

Hana shrugged, scooching over on the couch when Tsume came to sit down. "Hey, it could be worse, right? _Gonza_ could be the one sending us flowers- he could even be cooking the meals for us too, we just don't know yet. How is he anyway?"

Tsume shoved her head in a pillow. "Terrible. His son was promoted to chuunin."

"And that's…. Bad?" Hana blinked at her.

"It is, because if his son, Ashi, makes it to Jounin, he could challenge my authority and become the new clan head." Tsume looked up at Hana with a miserable expression. "Gonza has been after my position since I took over six years ago. I was what, twenty? Nineteen?"

Hana gaped at her. "Wa-wa-wait. Six years ago- after I was born? How old were you when you had me?"

Tsume pursed her lips. "Seventeen maybe?"

"What?!" Hana flew off the couch. _Jesus christ, Hana was eighteen when she was reborn. What did that make her now? Older than her own mother?_ "That is so young- Why was that allowed?"

"Well, I mean, you were kinda unplanned," her mother said, gesturing for Hana to sit back down. "I was an orphan, I thought I was in love. It's not _really_ a horrible time to have kids- I mean, members of the Hyuuga clan are married off as young as thirteen or fourteen."

Hana covered her hand with her mouth, turning a gross, pale green. "That's disgusting-! How is that even allowed still? Ugh!"

"People had to get married really young during the warring states era because they kept dying, kid." Tsume sighed, shooting hana a conflicted expression. "While life has gotten better for us, with, you know, Tv's and electricity, people are much harder to change when it comes to their values. It's usually just the clans now that have arranged marriages now, and mostly the stuck up noble ones." Tsume reached over and ruffled Hana's hair. "Don't worry, there's no way in hell i'd have you married at fourteen. Or- er, ever. If you want to get married, you're on your own."

Hana still felt uneasy. "It still isn't right… How can the rest of the village condone that sort of thing? it's wrong. I wish I could change it."

Tsume raised an eyebrow at her. "Are you thinking about getting into politics?"

"If it means I can vouch for human rights and keep the clans from marrying their children off when they're still babies, yeah." Hana shot her a determined look. "I _will_. I'm educated, I'm a potential clan heir, I could do it." She balled up her hands. "Kids shouldn't be forced into marriages or made soldiers before they even know what's going on in the world. It isn't right. I _want_ to change it."

"It'd take a little more than that to turn the clan system upside down," Tsume said, smirking at her. "I like your drive though- Fight the power! It… might take a decade or two to actually get anywhere though. Our clan doesn't have a lot of sway when it comes to the village, and i've never heard of an Inuzuka politician before. You'd be going up against a lot of different people, who are really, really good at twisting the truth and keeping things their way. Are you sure you're up for the challenge?"

Hana's eyes were made of steel as she looked up at Tsume. "Of course."

The older woman grinned. "I was hoping you'd say something like that."

* * *

Time passed.

Tsume started instructing Hana on clan politics, and overseeing her training again from the side. She was was seven months pregnant as summer rolled in, and because their house didn't have air conditioning, the heat forced everyone outside, like sweating, disgusting animals baking in the sun. Kuromaru and the Haimaru brothers were absolutely miserable in their thick coats, and it was decided that all four of them were either going to have to soak in a tub of water to keep from overheating, or have all their fur shaved off.

Kuromaru found some fault in that.

"I refused to be shaved like a common pet. I am above this kind of treatment, and all of you can burn for even suggesting it to me."

Hana groaned. "Don't be such a drama queen- the Haimaru brothers are happy without their fur- look at them! Kemuri is having the time of his life."

Kuromaru gave her a scathing glare. "Kemuri is a fool and is only pretending to be satisfied until the moment you drop your guard. He is a beast, and should not be trusted."

Kemuri gave a playful yip from across the lawn, and Hana cooed in response. "You don't know what you're talking about- he's my baby. There's no way he would ever turn on me."

"Let it be said again," Kuromaru said in a grave voice. "That dog is beyond moral reasoning."

Tsume rolled her eyes from her lawnchair. "Whatever floats your boat. Either way, you gotta choose between a haircut or soaking in a bath all day. I'm not getting Hasuki to fill up a kiddie pool for nothing."

Hasuki handed her a fruit cocktail, shooting her a withered expression. "I'm the one who has to fill up the pool- why are you the one complaining?"

"Because I have to tell you to do it," Tsume said, taking a sip of her drink. "It's very tiring work, you know. I have to come up with ideas, and then put them into _words_."

Kuromaru groaned. "Fill up the kiddie pool, I lack the patience for idle conversation in this heat."

Tsume snapped her fingers. "Right! Get to it minion- Kuromaru isn't going to be laying in shin-deep water all by himself, now is he?"

Hasuki dragged his hand over his face before stalking off towards the backyard shed, in search of a tiny plastic pool. God save them if he didn't find it- Hana would probably lose a limb trying to shave Kuromaru with him in such a mood.

"I want you to show me your clone technique," Tsume said, waving Hana over.

She obliged, padding up to her mother on the deck. "Oh- uh, okay. I thought we were going to do chakra exercises today though."

"We are, but I want to see how far you've gotten by yourself."

Right, right, that made sense. It had been a little while since Hana last tried using jutsu, so she fumbled for the correct hand seals.

 _Ram, snake, tiger_. Hana let her chakra fill up a space next to her, forcing it into a familiar shape. "Bunshin no jutsu!"

A (somewhat) perfect copy of herself stood by her side, blinking away the smoke that appeared.

Tsume didn't look quite satisfied. "You wasted a quarter of your energy making that- have you been working on your control much?"

Hana scratched her cheek. "Ehh, not really. I-I mean, I mastered the leaf training thing. It wasn't that hard."

"Show me," Tsume said, materializing a leaf out of thin air and pressing it into Hana's hand.

She frowned, a little miffed that she had to go back to the basics. _Wasn't she supposed to be above this kind of practice? Ugh, how demeaning._

Regardless, she stuck the leaf to her forehead, waiting just a few seconds for her chakra to concentrate there before removing her fingers. When the leaf stayed stuck, she looked impassively at her mother, making some sarcastic jazz-hands. "Ta-daaaa~"

Tsume rolled her eyes and immediately blew the leaf off her forehead.

"Hey-!" Hana exclaimed, snatching the leaf before it fell to the ground. "What was that for?"

"Your control sucks," Tsume said, grabbing her drink to take another judgemental sip. "How long did you even practice the leaf technique?"

Hana shifted uncomfortably. "A couple hours…?"

"-which explains why a little wind can knock your leaf away." Tsume sighed, exasperated. "Kid, you need a lot more practice than that."

"But it's so boringggg," Hana whined. "I can't _do_ anything while I'm keeping the leaf stuck to my forehead, it breaks my concentration."

"Then I suggest you get good while you can," her mother said in a grave voice, taking another sip from her fruity drink. "If you want to the be a competent shinobi, you have to learn how to mold chakra without thinking. Even our clan needs an intimate knowledge of the chakra pathways- how do you think we're able to use man-beast transformations? No whining, you're stuck with the leaf." Tsume gave her a hard stare, her voice dropping a few octaves. "Unless you'd rather quit, and never make it past _genin._ "

Hana narrowed her eyes. That… was absolutely a challenge. Tsume was trying to bait her. It was totally one of those dumb reverse-psychology lines parents used, but…

Goddamnit. There was no way Hana could back down from a challenge like that.

"Ooo, you are gonna regret saying that. Challenge accepted, old lady!"

* * *

"Should I even be asking?" Fū said, watching as Hana sat down in her desk, four leaves plastered to her forehead.

"Don't talk to me right now," Hana muttered, screwing her eyes shut in concentration. In front of the class, Nomura-sensei started talking to everyone about a field trip they would take next week. Neither Fu or Hana paid her any attention.

Izumi turned around in her seat, eyeing Hana and her leaves with the same slightly disturbed look that Fu had. "You aren't planning to keep those on you the whole class, right? That's… kinda weird, Hana-chan. How are you supposed to keep them on the whole time?"

"Watch and learn, Izumi," Hana murmured, one of the leaves already slipping with her concentration. "My mom can do this in her sleep- this is _nothing_. I'm supposed to have six soon."

Fū pursed his lips. What was her mom doing, making her work on her control so much? Hana was young- surely she had more than enough time to work on her chakra skills. Perhaps it was a pride thing? Fū didn't know the clan head personally, but it seemed as if Tsume Inuzuka

was pushing her daughter to develop her shinobi career faster for some reason. An internal power struggle? He would have to keep a close eye on clan dynamics. Maybe Hana was going to be the next leader, sooner, rather than later.

It was an interesting thought. Fū Yamanaka, sitting next to a future clan head. It made him feel a bit guilty for blackmailing her into doing his homework.

Still- imagine blackmailing a _clan heir_ into doing personal favours? On one hand, if he angered her or she suddenly wanted to back out on their deal, he could get on her bad side. As in, the bad side of an entire ninja clan, who trained wolves for a living and had pointy teeth and claws.

But… you know, Hana was seven. Fū was twelve. It wasn't like he was going to get free homework out of her forever.

Which begged the question- what was the point of hanging around her after graduation?

Power?

Or friendship?

Some happy-go lucky part of him whispered that friendship was supposed to be, you know, his first choice. The village truly did love waxing poetic lines about love and friendship- maybe he was going about their relationship the wrong way?

It was true that Fū didn't have very many friends that he had things in common with- sometimes he visited the Konoha orphanage, and hung out with a boy there, but other than that, the rest of the kids in Konoha, and the academy were… pretty juvenile, in comparison. So was Hana quite a lot of the time, but there were some rare moments where she seemed to drop her guard, and he swore he saw something more… calculating in her eyes.

Maybe he was reading too much into it. Maybe he just wanted someone at school to be like him.

Okay, well, 'someone like him' sounded pretty pretentious. It was a thing his grandmother often reprimanded him for- not that she was truly upset, or cared that it sounded like he was boasting (he didn't think he was). Rather, it was because other people often disliked him for it. And, sure, he could sort of understand why- when other kids did it, like Tenma, it was a little annoying. But when it came down to it, Fū was the oldest kid with the most skill. Itachi and Hana might've had the best grades this year, but it had been Fū with best grades for the last _several,_ since entering the academy.

 _Was he boasting again? He couldn't tell._ Fū sighed, leaning back in his chair. _At least his grandmother couldn't hear him inside his head._

Wait- he was a Yamanaka. Hearing other people's thoughts was their thing.

 _Obaa-san? Please don't be spying on me again._

"I want each and every one of you to read over this waiver and to give it to you parents before tomorrow," Nomura-sensei said, handing out slips of paper to each row. "Its very important that you make sure you're prepared and well-rested for next week's field trip- we're going to be camping in the woods, and I'll only be able to carry so many spare blankets."

"Shit- ugh, shoot, shoot." Hana's eyes crossed as she watched one of the leaves stuck to her forehead, slowly slip down to her nose. "I'm loooooooshing ittttt."

Izumi gasped, watching her with wide eyes."Concentrate Hana-chan! Don't let the teacher distract you!"

Nomura-sensei frowned as other heads in the classroom turned to watch. Catching her disapproving glance, Fū rolled his eyes and blew a gust of wind over Hana's face.

The look she gave his was made of of pure spite.

Nomura-sensei shook her head. "As I was saying…"

Hana was muttering curses under her breath as she collected her leaves off the floor, sending him dirty looks whenever she thought he wasn't looking. After the fourth time, Fū sighed and gave her his full attention.

"Give me one of those."

Hana narrowed her eyes at him. "Why should I?"

"It's really not that hard, I don't know why you're practicing it in class anyway." Fū gestured for her to hand him a leaf. "Let me show you."

She cradled them to her chest. "No way! You're just trying to one-up me."

"So, by refusing to give me one, you admit that I'm going to be better at it than you?" Fū gave her a blank stare.

Only for her frown and slap a leaf onto his forehead.

Fu ignored the stinging and let the feeling fuel his glare. "Was the _really_ necessary?"

"Nope," she said, shooting him a smug grin. "Now show me what you can do, flower boy."

" _Flower_ boy?" Izumi said incredulously, leaning back in her chair. "What kind of nickname is that?"

Hana shrugged. "He smells like freshly-cut lilacs. I don't make the rules."

Fu turned a bright crimson. "I have a job, so what?" He took a second leaf and slapped it onto Hana's forehead. "Do the stupid leaf exercise."

She snickered, but the leaf remained stuck to her forehead. "I wonder if Itachi would have any trouble with this?"

"No doubt he's have already mastered it," Izumi said, toying with a strand of hair. "You know, when he graduates, he'll be the youngest person to become a shinobi." she turned to face Hana. "You're a couple months older than him, right? Before you two, the youngest kid to graduate was the son of the white fang."

The leaf on Hana's forehead slipped a little. "Don't people call him Kakashi of the Sharingan now?"

Izumi's face darkened. "Yeah, but they really shouldn't. The Sharingan belongs to the Uchiha clan, just because the eye was gifted to him, doesn't mean it's his." She sighed. "I dunno, my clan doesn't really like him much. My parents have tried explaining what happened to me once or twice, but it's a lot of… political stuff… I don't really know what they're talking about."

Hana closed her eyes, trying to focus and keep the leaf from falling off her face. Beside her, Fu kept his mouth shut, copying her.

"My mom has been quizzing me on clan issues for a couple weeks now," Hana said, humming. "Since she's home a lot now on maternity leave, I've had to memorize a lot of old, dusty scrolls and read them back to her off the top of my head. Do you have any idea how hard some names are to remember? Why can't people just name their kids something easy, like Shin, or Lea."

Izumi scowled and pointed at the Yamanaka by their side, quietly keeping a leaf stuck to his forehead. "Hey, at least his name is Fu. Run into any of those in your studies?"

Hana gave him a dull stare. "Nope. I guess it's just not good enough." She elbowed him in the side, messing with his concentration. "You hear that? I just insulted you. Say something witty in response."

Fu ground his teeth together, making sure the leaf didn't fall. "No, Hana-san, perhaps you are correct. At… whatever you just said. Leave me alone, I'm focusing."

"Noooo, come on, it's not fun if you aren't being all sarcastic and rude to me," Hana whined, inching closer to him. Fu cracked one eye open to watch her pick up a couple more leaves. "Come on, this isn't challenging enough. Three leaves each- if one of them falls off, the loser has to, ugh…"

"Take the other out for a date!" Izumi grinned, clasping her hands together. "I can see it now- you two would be so cute together!"

Hana tried not to make a retching sound.

"Why… would we even be a thing? That's gross, she's seven," Fu said, frowning at Izumi.

Hana opened her mouth to argue that no, she really _wasn't_ seven years old, but she stayed silent. Not only would she be outing herself, but… well, Fu had already made an argument on their age gap, so you know. Job done either way.

She tore up a piece of paper from her notebook and slapped it onto Izumi's forehead. "Here- this is your punishment for trying to pair me up with a child. This is a shame leaf. You don't deserve a real one."

Izumi pouted, the little leaf of paper stuck between her eyebrows. "That's men, Hana-can. Don't you want love in your life? I'm worried you might have an unhealthy attachment to Tobirama…"

Fu cleared his throat and suddenly sat forward in his chair. "I'm sorry- has there been a development with your crush, Hana-hime?"

Hana grunted, looking off to the side so neither children saw her shameful, _shameful_ blush. "My thoughts on the second Hokage is none of your business."

"Wait- you know about it too?" Izumi scooted closer to Fu. "How did you find out?

He shrugged. "I read her planner- there were pictures and everything."

"Me too!" she exclaimed, eyes wide. "Did you see that one with her arm wrestling with him? I thought it was really romantic."

Hana's face turned an even brighter red. "I-I, no wait, that wasn't ME doing that, it was…. A real…. historical character…Why would I write myself kicking the second Hokage's ass, haha that's ridiculous."

"What's her name then?" Fu asked.

She started to sweat. "My character's name is… Hana...ko Inuyasha. She's Tobirama's secret rival. She uses wind release and can fly and talk to birds."

Fu gave her a deadpan stare. "That sounds… incredibly fake."

"Shhhh- let her dream," Izumi said, clasping her hands together. "Does Tobirama ever fall for her captivating good looks? Or are they destined to remain passing faces in a crowd?"

"Please, don't encourage her," Fu said, a disgusted look on his face.

It was already too late, Hana was already pulling out her sketchbook. "Here- these are the most recent sketches I did of them together. See the matching scars on their arms? Tobirama gave her that one when they first clashed, and then she paid him back when they were both adults."

Fu gave her a pained look. "That sounds… exactly like what Uchiha Madara and Hashirama Senju did. Except with a horrible romance plotline."

Izumi took Hana's sketchbook gently, a look of wonder on her face. "Hana, these are beautiful! I didn't realise how good an artist you were, _wow_. Fu, aren't these fantastic? She really captures the movement in this pose- see? It really looks like Tobirama is about to ambush Hanako when she's brushing her hair."

Hana flipped the page. "In the next sketch, she throws her brush at him. After they, you know, fight and stuff, Hanako's landlady makes the two of them rebuild her apartment wall together."

"How much of this story have you actually _planned_?" Fu shook his head at both of them. "Don't you think the Second Hokage is above this sort of weird… domestic fluff? You have far too much time on your hands."

Hana gave him a solemn nod. Far too much time indeed- when you were forced to live through childhood all over again, one was bound to come up with some pretty weird stories to stay entertained. She hadn't even brought out her other sketchbook, but she could already feel Fu's judgemental stare.

Instead she shrugged, accepting her fate. "Ah- don't worry about it. I just make these dumb stories to feel better about what I'm doing right now. It gets kinda boring being an academy student all the time, right? I can't wait to be a ninja and do all the cool stuff Hanako does in my story."

Izumi gave her a sympathetic look. "I get it… Fu's just jealous he can't be creative like you. I _know_ you do his homework for him- he's just lazy."

"Hey," Fu said, crossing his arms over his chest. "I could do art like that if I actually wanted to." "

"So, you're lazy? Got it." The Uchiha rolled her eyes, turning back to Hana. "Anyway, my point is, don't listen to him. You can do cool ninja stuff right now! Look- you've kept those leaves on your forehead for twenty minutes now, that's awesome! We could totally get together after school and do ninja stuff together, What do you say?"

Hana pursed her lips. "I dunno… I was gonna invite Itachi over and show him my house before we sparred today..."

Izumi's eyes went wide. "Its perfect, we could all come over to your place and hang out! I'd _love_ to have an excuse to be around Itachi-kun!"

Fu gave her a blank stare. "Usually, people keep hidden motives like that to themselves."

"What motives?" she said innocently. "I was going to invite Shinko too."

Hana shrugged. "I guess you can do that... the more the merrier, right? My mom probably won't mind a couple extra kids at my house as long as you guys don't like, set the place on fire or something." She turned to look at Fu. "You can come too if you want."

He gave her an empty shrug. "'I'll think about it."

"All right!" Izumi said, pumping a fist in the air. "I'll bring my training gear!"

* * *

Izumi, Shinko, Itachi, Tenma, and his two friends (Eji and Umino-san) all stood in Hana's backyard. It was like the circus had rolled into town, suddenly, it was like Hana's house was suddenly bombarded by children.

Izumi made a face. "Please tell me why _he's_ here?"

Shinko ducked her head in embarrassment."I-I… He was right next to me when you asked me over to Hana-san's house..It would've been rude to exclude him. He's my friend, after all.."

"Yeah- you hear that?" Tenma said, turning Eji and Umino-san. "I'm her _friend_. This is what _friends_ do- Invite each other places."

Eji clapped him on the back, while Umino-san gave him a congratulatory thumbs up. "I always knew you had it in you, boss."

Izumi moaned, covering her face with her hands. "I can't believe you invited the peanut gallery- I was finally going to befriend Itachi-kun today…"

Itachi, who had stayed relatively silent and off to the side while the rest of the kids showed up, gave Hana a nervous look. "Are you realy sure you want to spar today? We could reschedule, if you want."

"No-!" Hana and Izumi said, though, the older girl was much louder.

Hana held up a hand to keep her quiet. "What I mean to say is- I thought it'd be a really good opportunity for us to all hang out and do ninja stuff together." Hana looked to the others. "Kids play ninja here, right? Like, as a game?"

Shinko gave her a slight nod. "Yes- though, uh, I think I'd rather sit out. I don't really like roughhousing…"

"Oh," Hana said, frowning. " Do you want to do something else?"

She nodded, padding up to the deck. "If you could show me that leaf trick from before? I'd really love to try it out."

Tenma pouted. "Hey, wait- If Shinko is sitting out, playing ninja isn't going to be fun." He followed after her, Eji and Umino-san in tow. "What's the leaf trick? I want to do it too."

Izumi rolled her eyes at him. "It's for _chakra control_ , dummy. Someone like you wouldn't be interested in a thing like that."

"Hey, take that back!" He said, balling his hands up into fists.

Hana stepped in between the two of them before they actually started brawling. "Please, _please_ get along. You're at my house, and I'd really rather not… ugh, have to convince my _father_ not to eat my guests again."

Everyone paused.

Itachi opened his mouth to say something, but shut it.

Shinko worriedly looked around the backyard.

Izumi, Eji and Umino-san all took a step closer to the person next to them.

"Father?" Tenma said out loud, blinking at Hana. "Please tell me your dad is a dog, because otherwise, that would be… really, really bad."

"You called?" Kuromaru said, padding out from the house, Tsume in tow, a big fluffy housecoat wrapped around her.

Tenma and his friends scrambled off the porch. "I-Is that a talking wolf?" Tenma said, the three of them hiding in hana's shadow.

Izumi have him a withering look. "Of course it is- where do you think you are? Many clans have speaking shinobi animals. I, for one, know a talking cat that visits the Uchiha grounds from time to time."

"Oh- Do you mean Denka-san?" Itachi asked, surprised that someone else his age knew the ninneko. "I've met him before, he's a very good conversationalist."

Izumi's cheeks flushed a light pink, being addressed by her crush. "I didn't know the two of you spoke before." She scratched the back of her head, grinning. "Small world, huh?"

Kuromaru bared his teeth, spooking Shinko, who stood a few feet away from him. "Pah-! ninneko such as him are the reason shinobi animals get such a poor reputation. Warriors shouldn't be pleasant to talk to- This is why cats should never be granted such liberties. They ruin everything with their soft paws, and mewling offspring. A true shinobi never mewls!"

Tsume rolled her eyes, patting the top of Kuromaru's head. "Alright, cool it. You're scaring Hana's new little friends. They might not ever come back if you make a face like that."

The ninken pouted, his ears falling flat on his head. "Make a face like what?"

Hana stolled up to the deck. "Hey, mum? I was going to show everyone the leaf technique- do you think you could help me?"

Tsume's eyes glittered. "You… want me to train all you friends?" She put a hand over her heart. "I'd be _honoured._ "

Hana spun around and gave everyone a thumbs up.

Izumi and Tenma gave each other a wary stare.

* * *

The moment Fu set foot in the Inuzuka district, he knew he was going to regret it.

In fact, the second he even got close to Hana's house, he regretted his decision to come. Some sort… of giant dog appeared out of thin air, lunging forward so fast, he couldn't even react in time. A second later, he ended up in the backyard, windblown, with tooth marks and dog spit on the back of this shirt.

An Inuzuka woman- Hana's mother? Gave him a bright, if menacing, grin. "Fantastic- Hana! Another one of your friends stopped by!"

Fu clutched his chest, gasping for air. "W-what did I just walk into?"

"The battle of the century," Tsume said, pushing him closer to the rest of the kids. "See here- Hana, Itachi, Izumi, that Tenma kid and Shinko are all doing the leaf exercise together. Whoever keeps the leaf stuck to their forehead is the winner."

"It's no contest, Itachi-kun is going to win," Izumi said, as she sat cross legged on the porch. Her leaf, which had slipped down to the bride of her nose, warbled.

"Then why are you even trying?" Tenma shot back, sneering at her. His leaf was already starting to crumble, the flow of his chakra too rough. "Obviously you're going to lose here."

Itachi pursed his lips. "It's really up to anyone- I'm not as skilled with the leaf exercise as some may think."

Hana rolled her eyes. "Please, before we started this you told me your dad made you master this trick, no problem."

He suppressed a frown. "It's really anyone's game, Hana-san. I'm sure Izumi-san, Tenma-san and Shinko-san are all very good at chakra control."

"A-actually," Shinko said, giving him an awkward shrug. "I've never tried this before. In Sauna, my parents taught me to practice chakra control by sticking sand to my hand."

"Oh, really?" Izumi said, leaning forward so she could look at her, past Tenma's head. "I didn't know that was how the land of wind trained."

Tenma pursed his lips. "Obviously I know- that's what friends do, of course. There's nothing Shinko's done that i don't know about."

Izumi wrinkled her nose at him. "Except maybe how to keep a leaf stuck to your forehead."

"What-?" Tenma looked at the ground, where, indeed, a partially crumbled leaf lay. "No!"

Fu shook his head at the group, staring down at Tenma with a disappointed look on his face. "Ameture."

Izumi shot them all a vicious grin, pointing at Tenma's fallen leaf. "Aha! See? I told you- there's no way you could ever beat me!"

Tenma's eyes flashed. "Oh yeah? Then what's this?" Quickly, he got up and blew the leaf off of her forehead.

She gasped. "No-! How could you?!"

"That's what you get, sucker," he said, sticking his tongue out at her as he backed off the porch. Eji and Umino-san, who had been petting the Haimaru brothers, beckoned him over.

Izumi wasn't willing to let him get away without a fight, and quickly chased him down the steps. "Get back here!"

Hana watched them run around on the grass. "I'm glad they're getting along… sort of…"

Shinko sighed. "It's probably the best we're going to get."

Itachi looked slightly troubled. "I didn't know Tenma was… like this."

Hana shot him a look. "What- not _so_ bad?"

He nodded. "Maybe, the only impression I had of him was that he didn't like me for some reason."

Shinko made an embarrassed groan. "Yeah… He's really… not good with losing to people, especially to someone like you, who's…."

"Younger?" Itachi answered, tilting his head to the side.

Hana nodded. "It makes sense. Though, I wish someone would talk to his parents about it. I can't believe I had to play bodyguard for so long- keeping him away from you was exhausting."

(Izumi threw a clump of grass at Tenma, shouting at him for the dirt he had put in her hair.)

Fu sat down next to them, ignoring the yelling and chaos going on behind him. "I knew you were doing something like that on purpose- tell me the truth Hana-hime, how long were you secretly trying to get clsoe to Itachi?"

Hana looked at the ground, embarrassed by being called out. "I… That's kind of an awkward question to answer, isn't it? A… a little while, I guess..."

Said Uchiha, in question, sent her a surprised look. "Is that true Hana-san?"

The leaf on Hana's forehead fluttered to the ground.

Fu picked it up off the ground. "Thank you, again, for that ridiculous flower nickname you gave me earlier. Some of the other kids in class overheard you."

Hana gave him an offended look. "I can't _believe_ you're still upset about that- it's a cute nickname! Super cute! Do you have any idea what I would give to have a cool flower name like that?"

Fu gave her a blank stare.

Itachi cleared his throat.

"Hana-chan," Shinko said, tugging her sleeve. "You _do_ know, that your name means, uh-"

"Yes, yes I do Shinko," Hana said, closing her eyes. "Please excuse me for a moment."

Scurrying into the house, the rest of the kids pretended not to hear the sound of someone hitting their forehead with their hand.

Fu sighed, rubbing one temple. "Idiot."

"She does her best," Itachi murmured, not one to let a friend go undefended while they were gone.

Fu tilted his head to the side, turning his attention towards Itachi now that Hana had left. "I haven't personally introduced myself yet- I'm Fu Yamanaka," He extended his hand. "It's a pleasure to meet our class's top graduate this year."

Itachi froze, looking down at his outstretched hand. He… was supposed to shake it, right? That was the polite thing to do? A few awkward seconds later, Itachi nodded and returned the gesture, shaking his hand. "Uchiha Itachi, nice to meet you, Yamanaka-san."

Fu rolled his eyes. "Call me by my first name- only strangers call me by my family name. Besides," He edged a bit closer to the young boy. "I'd like us to be friends."

"U-ugh." Itachi blinked at him, . "I-I don't... really know you yet," He bowed his head, quickly getting up. "Sorry for being rude, Yamanaka-san, I should go get Hana, excuse me."

Fu watched as Itachi quickly padded across the deck, flinging open the sliding glass door. He sighed. "That… didn't go so well."

Fu jumped when the girl next to him spoke up.

"You were too forward," Shinko said, raising an eyebrow at him. "Itachi-kun doesn't have a lot of friends- so many people being around like this must be very scary for him."

Fu frowned at her. "And you would be an expert on this, how?"

Shinko nodded. "I do, because _I'm_ shy as well," she crossed her arms over her chest. "It doesn't take a genius to tell when someone is uncomfortable, though…" She pursed her lips. " I guess It may take one to _scare someone away_ though."

He sighed, looking down at Itachi's spot. "At least he left his leaf behind."

"Oh-" Shinko said, blinking at him. "Does that mean I win?"

"Yes!" Tsume said, coming out of the house with a grin on her face. Behind her, Hana and Itachi followed in her shadow. "Kids, we have a winner!"

"Aw, no fair," Tenma said from the lawn, wiping a patch of dirt off of his face. "I want a second go at it."

Izumi looked at him from his left hand side. "You were the first person to fail!"

"So?" Tenma put his hands on his hips. "I know I can do better than that."

"Hey- what's the prize for winning?" Hana asked, peering up at her mother.

Tsume rubbed her hands together, grinning. "Shinko-chan gets to be the flag."

All eyes turned towards her, and Shinko blinked owlishly at them. "The what?"

* * *

Hana dove out of the trees, making sure she tucked, rolled-

"Aaaaand she sticks the landing!" She cheered, popping back up on her feet thanks to the extra momentum.

Fu frowned at her, appearing by her side. "The point of playing ninja capture the flag is about stealth- throwing yourself from your hiding place serves absolutely _no_ purpose."

Hana pouted. "Hey- it was cool! I thought I looked awesome."

The two of them darted apart as a handful of kunai struck the ground with a clang.

"Damnit Tenma! I told you not to use real weapons!"

He turned back to Izumi. "Hey- In the real world, ninja are supposed to use everything at their disposal."

She smacked him upside the head. "This isn't the real world, idiot! This is Hana's backyard- if you end up killing her, you'll have to face her mother and her demon-dad-wolf!"

Umino-san made a pained expression. "Please stop fighting, you'll make Eji cry again."

Hana hid behind a tree, trying to keep a lock on where Fu ended up. When she saw him crouched beneath a shrub, she signalled for them to regroup.

Retreating back to their starting point, Hana managed to get a lock on Itachi as well. The three of them crowded underneath the shade of a tree, looking to Itachi for directions since he had been marked as team captain.

"They have the flag guarded," He said, drawing a poorly drawn rendition of Hana's backyard in the dirt. "Shinko is here, see? Our best tactic is to go for a bull formation, with one of us acting as a distraction while the other two sweep in from the sides."

Hana shot up her hand. "I volunteer as a distraction- My aerobatics demand an audience, and Fu doesn't have what it takes to look fancy in the air."

The Yamanaka scoffed. "Please, have you seen me speeding around? I look great."

Hana narrowed her eyes at him. " _Great_ doesn't pay the bills, flower boy."

Itachi cleared his throat. "So, Hana will be the decoy. Remember, nonlethal attacks, only use kunai for deflection purposes. None of us are wearing the proper protection, so try not to hit anyone too hard." He put his hand out. "On three,"

Hana and Fu obliged.

"One, two, three, _go-!_ "

They split up again, Fu taking Hana's left, while Itachi went with her right. Hana made sure to keep her chakra levels low as she crept closer to where the flag was hidden. The opposing team hadn't done a very good job moving Shinko somewhere secret, but with her being an actual person, and not a light, inanimate object, it was a little difficult. Especially since Tsume had made sure Shinko wasn't able to run away, tying up her ankles with soft rope.

Eji and Umino-san hadn't been much help either, though they were much more focused than their two other teammates. They remained silent and kept watch of the flag while the other half of their team argued- and it was them that Hana had to distract. If she could just get their attention away from the flag…

Well, Hana didn't have her ninken at her disposal, (since having three ninja dogs was apparently cheating) but she did have something else.

 _Ram, snake, tiger_. Hana let her chakra fill up a space next to her, a small grin forming on her face when she noticed how much easier the technique was on her chakra reserves. "Bunshin no jutsu!"

A mirror copy of herself crouched next to her, peering through the leaves. "What do you want me to do?"

"Focus on getting Tenma. If he goes down, the other two will go after them- wait," Hana took a good look at her up close. "Is that really what I look like from this angle?"

"Please focus," clone-Hana said.

Real-Hana shook her head. "Right, sorry… me…"

The both of them coated their feet in chakra, using the side of a tree to kick off from like a springboard, shooting across the field.

"Tuck," Clone-hana said.

"Roll," Real hana said,

"And stick the landing!" they said, landing on their feet and taking another dash forward as the enemy team scrambled to do something.

Hana ducked her head as a shuriken came whizzing by, pulling out a handful of senbon from her pack. She flung them at Tenma's feet, clearly missing him.

"Shit-!" He slipped and fell onto his back, gaping at the giant needles right next to his open toes.

Eji and Umino-san abandoned their post. "Boss- are you okay?!"

Izumi cured. "Don't take your eye off the flag, idiots!"

Too late, Itachi and Fu swept in at either side of her, forcing Izumi back with well timed kicks and shoves.

Itachi quickly broke away from the skirmish and cut the ties holding Shinko prisoner. "Got you."

Shinko clapped her hands together. "Thank you Itachi-kun! I knew you all could do it!"

"Shinkooooo," Izumi whined. "What does that mean for _my_ team?"

The sauna girl pursed her lips, tucking a strand of blonde hair behind her ear. "W-well, ugh…"

"It's okay, I know. We're hopeless," She sighed, sitting down in the grass. She pouted, looking at Hana's team. "It wasn't fair- the three of you have the best grades in the class, how were we supposed to match up?"

"Academy grades mean very little on the field," Itachi said sagely, nodding his head. "Hana and myself are not only younger, but physically weaker than anyone else here. There's no reason for you to feel upset."

Hana scratched the back of her head. "You did the best with what you were given. It's not bad."

Tenma frowned at them. "I demand a rematch."

"Maybe some other time," Said Fu, brushing the dirt off of his long sleeves. "My grandmother expects me to be back before six, I have to go home."

"Oh-" Izumi quickly got up. "Is it really getting that late? My parents will start wondering where I am soon."

There was a chorus of 'me too's ' and soon enough, everyone started packing up their things to go home.

Hana shrugged, seeing them to the edge of the Inuzuka grounds. "I'm glad you guys came to my house! I had a lot of fun."

"Maybe we can have a _sleepover_ next time," Izumi said, picking up her things.

Itachi paused, looking at them both. "We're going to have a camping trip soon, is it really necessary?"

"Ooh- I almost forgot!" Izumi turned back to Hana. "Camping- are you excited? We can share a tent with Shinko and roast marshmallows, tell scary stories; it's gonna be great!"

Hana's eyes sparkled, and she quickly clasped her hands together. "I'm _so_ ready. Bring it on!"

Next week, when their entire class set out to camp in the wilderness, she would regret those words.

 **XOXOX**

 **End of chapter 15~**

If the last while was a bit confusing, It's my bad. Writing 9+ characters is super hard, and I would not recommend it.

Tell me what you thought of this chapter in the comments-! Thanks to those of you who have faved, followed and reviewed! I really appreciate the support :D


	16. Chapter 16 - Stalling For Time

**A/N:** Yo! Sorry for the two month silence, my laptop broke down and i got carried off by my family to enjoy summer vacation. To make it up to everyone, here's a double update! (also, just a heads up, im using XOXO instead of page breaks because they keep disappearing on me when i publish the document)

 **Disclaimer:** _I really love ninjas and dogs_

 **XOXOX**

 **Chapter 16 - Stalling For Time**

 **XOXOX**

"You've got your books, extra rations, kibble for the Haimaru brothers…. Clothes, shoes, emergency tools, kunai..." Hasukī said, looking over a checklist and making sure Hana had everything she needed. "You have extra underwear, right? OH- what about socks? You have your socks packed?"

"Yes, _mom._ Can I go now? My class is supposed to meet up in an hour," Hana pouted at him, clinging to the straps on her backpack. The Haimaru brothers were nipping at her heels, and Hana couldn't stop the impatient tick that formed under her eye. They had gone through this dumb checklist three times already- Hasuki's mother-bird tendency was going to be the death of her.

"...Are you sure you have enough kibble for the trip? You don't want the Haimaru brothers to go hungry, do you?"

Kemuri took a chomp out of Hana's ankle, and instead of sputtering every curse word known to man- she closed her eyes and stood perfectly still. "The Haimaru brothers can starve for all I care."

Hasuki started wringing his hands. "I-I don't know, maybe this camping trip is too soon. Are you _sure_ you're ready?"

"Yes," Hana said between clenched teeth, pushing her ninken off her with a quick shake of her leg. "In fact, I think this trip will be good for me. The Haimaru brothers too- how else will they learn to finally respect me? As far as I'm aware, dumping them in the woods for a couple days and forcing them to listen to me will only bring good things." She opened her eyes and glared down at Kemuri, who met her gaze with a dull, unimpressed expression. The little bastard respected no man, but this week? Things would change. Hana wouldn't have to wake up to half her wardrobe torn apart and covered in dog hair.

Hasuki didn't seem very convinced. "I… You only just turned seven, and I know you're top of your class, but-"

"Relax," Tsume said, edging up next to them in her big pink housecoat and fuzzy slippers. By the way she had one hand on her back, it looked like the weight of carrying Kiba had finally caught up with her. She was nearly eight months pregnant- walking around with a so much weight was finally starting to take it's toll on her spine. The poor thing. "Hana's a big girl, she can handle a few days alone in the woods."

"At least someone has a faith in me," Hana muttered, giving Hasuki a disapproving look. "Worrying is fine and all, but honestly, I'll be okay. The Haimaru brothers will be with me, both my chuunin Sensei, and like, twenty four other kids to hang out with. I'll probably be safer than I am at home."

"Wait, rewind to that part where you said you'd be surrounded by twenty four other kids," Tsume said, narrowing her eyes. "Are you sure your teachers thought this through? It's going to be a disaster."

"It'll be _fine_ ," Hana said between her teeth, gripping tighter to the straps of her backpack. "It's not like It's going to be life or death or anything- just a couple days out camping. I'll be fine." She made a move to walk out the door, and-

Tsume sighed. "Hold it."

Hana froze and looked over her shoulder. "Is there something else?"

"Yeah." She glanced at Hasuki and jerked her head towards the closet. He understood something at that point, because he hastily went over and opened it. "We thought you might get cold with that jacket of yours."

Hasuki started digging around, pulling out several worn coats trying to look for something Hana's size. "We?" came his muffled voice, deep inside the closet. "Tsume-sama, please admit that you worry about Hana-chan just as much as I do."

Hana raised an eyebrow, looking at her mother. "Whats this about worring about me mum? I didn't realise you were such a softie." She crossed her arms over her chest, trying to do her best Tsume impression. "Tsch, I-It's not like I worry about you, _baka_."

Tsume uncrossed her arms and let them fall awkwardly to her side, as if Hana had thoroughly proved her point. "I _do not_ sound like that- do you want a warmer coat or not, brat?"

Hana pursed her lips, looking down at the jacket she had on. It was true that hers probably wasn't as warm as anything Hasuki dug out of the closet, and probably only shielded her from light rain at best, but she felt slightly upset at the idea of taking off Kiba's jacket. It just felt… familiar to her; she wore it all the time. But, if she was going to go camping, and have to brave the elements on her own, a warm coat could really help her out….

Damn it. Hana peeled off her jacket and gently folded it up in her arms.

Tsume looked at her appraisingly. "Good choice- I have a coat from my Genin days perfect for cold weather." They both turned to look at Hasuki, still struggling inside the closet. "Need any help there, buddy?"

"I appreciate the concern Tsume-sama-" he huffed, shoving some boxes aside. "-but you're eight months pregnant, I should be okay from here on out, I just need to-"

Crash! Boxes, shoes and magazines rained down on Hasuki from inside the closet, tumbling out into the living room and pooling around everyone's feet.

Tsume pinched the bridge of her nose. "Honestly, kid…"

"It's fine, it's fine!" Hasuki quickly pulled himself out of the wreckage, holding up a small, tan leather jacket. "This is the one you were talking about, right?"

"Yes!" She pulled the coat out of his hands, holding it up in front of her. "Man, I haven't seen this in years! This was the first coat I ever bought for myself. Hey, Hana, what do you think? Do you wanna try it on?"

"Uh, sure?" She really didn't have much choice in the matter, since Tsume basically pushed the jacket into her arms. Tsume's old jacket was warm- she wasn't lying about that part. It had nice cozy fur around the collar and on the inside, but wasn't overly bulky. The jacket was a bit big on her; the sleeves were loose around Hana's arms, and she had to roll up her sleeves so she could actually use her hands. After a moment of checking out the various pockets hidden inside, Hana zipped up the coat and pulled out her ponytail, tugging at the hem of her shirt underneath to smooth everything out. It felt… kinda nice to have her own jacket again. She'd definitely grow into this new one, but…

Hana looked down at Kiba's coat down on the ground.

"We can save that one for your little brother or sister," Tsume said, catching onto Hana's thought process. "It's better this way; hand-me-downs are cheaper and don't require an extra shopping trip. You have no idea how hard it is to get a good quality jacket when you're a ninja."

Hana nodded, gingerly picking up her old jacket and hugging it to her chest. "It makes sense…" She turned to look at Hasuki, who was still trying to overcome the avalanche of junk he created coming from the closet. "You'll make sure my coat doesn't get eaten by moths or something before it's needed, right?"

"Don't worry about it." Tsume ruffled Hana's hair with one hand, pulling the old jacket out of her grip with another. "I'll make sure Hasuki puts it away safely- after this _disaster_ is dealt with." She shook her head at him as another box fell from a higher shelf. "What are you even doing? God, just let me help you, move over."

"No, no, Tsume-sama, I can handle it, I can-" he stumbled getting up, knocking a few more coats off of hangers. "Do you never throw anything away? Tsume-sama, why is there a mace in here? What are you doing with a bear pelt in your closet?"

Tsume plunged her arm into the cupboard and pulled out a deadly, steel looking thing with spikes bolted on. "Oh man- I thought I lost this! Namikaze will be so glad I found it, a couple more years and this puppy's seal would've left a crater where our house was."

"Aaaaand, I'll take that as my cue to leave," said Hana, edging away from the even more threatening mace. Did it have some sort of power sealed into it? Lord Jesus, Hana did not wanna be around it in case it went off. Craters were not fun. "I'll see you in a couple days, alright? I don't wanna be late."

"Yeah yeah, okay, have fun," Tsume murmured, a sinister glint in her eyes as she weighed the mace with both of her hands. When Hasuki pulled himself out of the closet, stumbling towards her, a wide grin spread across Tsume's face. "Hey Hasuki, you wanna see what the Lost Raioni Club can do?"

Hasuki slowly shook his head, turning pale. "I really, _really_ don't."

"Here's a hint: it involves explosions and _lightning_."

Hana was out the door before she got caught in the crossfire.

 **XOXOX**

It turned out, Hana was twenty five minutes late when she finally made it to the academy. Everyone was standing around with their backpacks on, and the second Hana got close enough to see everyone, Izumi and Fu were by her side, dragging her by the back of her sweater.

"I can't _believe_ you took so long to get here," Izumi sighed, pulling her to the teacher. "I know you like to take your time showing up for school sometimes, but _really,_ Hana-chan?"

Fū was even less amused, dragging her by her arms to the teacher. "Don't give her the chance to explain. I've been waiting here for _far_ too long."

Izumi looked her up and down. "Nice jacket, but what the heck took you so long?"

Hana shrugged, letting them carry her to Nomura-sensei. "Kemuri got stuck in a fence. It took me a while to push him through."

Also, you know, she had been cowering in fear and waiting for the sound of lighting to crack and light up the sky, but nothing happened. Which meant Hasuki was able to talk Tsume out of using whatever crazy stupid club she found forever ago- or, something much more sinister happened. If Hana was being honest with herself, her faith in Hasuki's nagging was far outshined by her faith in Tsume being absolutely all-for chaotic, crazy antics.

But… admittedly, Kemuri really did get stuck in a fence. He had caught sight of someone's squirrel summon and Hana had to waste all her time trying to pull him back out. It had taken her far too long than her pride allowed, and the memory of people watching as she squeezed him through made her face heat up in embarrassment.

Thank god Izumi and Fu actually believed her, since they both looked behind them to stare at the one Haimaru brother who sported a ring of naked, rubbed raw skin around his middle. Like a reverse inner tube.

Kemuri blinked his little black eyes at the three of them and yipped. Obviously, the little jerk felt no shame about his actions.

Izumi covered her mouth with her hands, dropping Hana's arm. "He's _naked_ , oh my god."

Fū glowered at her, now carrying Hana's full weight on his own. "So? He had less fur last time you saw him when Hana gave him a trim. And besides- he's _always_ naked, he's a dog."

"To be fair, I don't think he cares either way," Hana said, looking up at him from his arms. "You gonna carry me like this the whole trip, flower boy? I could get used to it- gives me something to write in my diary."

Fū immediately dropped her, a disgusted look on his face. "You don't even _have_ a diary."

"True," she said, quickly getting back up off the ground. "But if I did, there's no doubt in my mind that you'd have read it by now."

Fu scoffed. "Isn't that what friends do? Stop me if I'm doing something wrong, I wouldn't want to overstep any precious boundaries."

Hana rolled her eyes. "Which I'm _sure_ you value more than information, which you covet with those grubby, sweet-smelling hands of yours." She turned to look at Izumi, who was still preoccupied with the Haimaru brothers. She was actually blinking back tears looking at the inner-tube like ring around Kemuri's middle, holding him like a baby in her arms. "Are she gonna be okay, or do do we need to take a minute?"

Izumi covered her mouth with her hand, trying to keep a hold of herself. "I… I think I'll be alright." after a second, she blinked her big glossy eyes back at the dog. "He's just… he's all smooth, and…. He's okay? I know you trimmed his fur before, but he's _naked,_ Hana-chan. He's not wearing anything around his middle _at all_."

Hana gave the girl's shoulder a solid pat. "I didn't have any other option Izumi. You see, Kemuri is far too curious for his own good. And, combined with a narrow fence, and the fact that he's getting _really_ fat-"

Kemuri let out an affronted yip in Izumi's arms.

Hana shot him a hard stare. "Listen, you can't say anything, mister, when you end up making me late for the one field trip I actually look forward to. Join in on our morning walks and lose a couple pounds before you start raising your voice at me like that. I raised you better than this."

Fu looked at them, an unimpressed look on his face. "You sure showed that dog…. what's right…"

Izumi cuddled Kemuri closer. "Don't listen to her, sweetie, a couple pounds is nothing to worry about. You're _perfect_."

A tiny, vindictive twinkle sparkled in Kemuri's eyes.

Which… Hana totally saw. She narrowed her eyes at him. "See, this is what i was talking about- Now that you've gone and told him that Izumi-chan, I'm going to have to teach him respect before all this coddling gets to his head."

Fu rolled his eyes so hard Hana was afraid they'd get stuck there. " _Anyway_ , we are actually on a schedule, so if you two could _maybe_ pause whatever this conversation is and move it somewhere else?" He gave them the sweetest, most fake smile possible. "That'd be great, thanks."

"You're so dramatic," Hana muttered, crossing her arms over her chest. "What other time should I chastise my dog? If I don't do it now, he'll just forget and then I'll just look weird."

He nodded understandably. "Yes, of course. Like that isn't an issue now. I totally understand your reasoning now. By all means, waste everyone's time a bit more by teaching your dog manners. I'll wait right here."

Izumi sighed and let Kemuri down, dusting stray puppy fur off her clothes. "He's right though, everyone's waiting for us to get going. I'm pretty sure Nomura-sensei started chewing one of her pencils because she's so anxious."

Hana winced. "We should probably get moving before she moves onto her clipboard or something."

When the three of them made their way to the rest of the class Nomura-sensei was practically vibrating with anxious energy. When she finally saw Hana, she relaxed the grip on her clipboard and fished out the pencil behind her ear, which did in fact have a couple tooth marks in it.

" _Fantastic-_ everyone's here now." She gave them all a tight lipped smile, relaxing her shoulders ever so slightly. She crossed off Hana's name on her list, looking back up to the group of kids surrounding her, now with their full attention. "Before we get moving, there are a couple details I think we should go over first."

The class groaned.

Nomura-sensei held up a hand to quiet them. "I know you've been waiting a while, I apologize. I'll try to keep things short." Someone elbowed Hana in the ribs and whispered ' _half an hour'_ in her ear. She was pretty sure it was Fu. She stomped on his foot. "Now, Takada-sensei told me to tell you all to enjoy yourselves while he stays at home. He's fallen a bit under the weather, and, well, since he's an older man…"

"Is he gonna die? Are you going to take his job?" a voice asked from the crowd, followed by a chorus of shocked gasps and awkward giggles.

Nomura-sensei repressed whatever emotion crossed her face, but.. Her eyebrow twitched. "No, he's not going to die. Konoha has excellent medical care, and-" She sighed and looked back down to her clipboard. "Anyway, our field trip is going to take place in one of the hunting grounds just inside the border of konoha. I don't know if some of your parents have told you, but the clans have been very gracious this year in giving us access to a joint-acre lot." She actually made a point of looking towards Hana and Izumi in the crowd. "Thanks to the Inuzuka clan, the Uchiha clan, and the Nara clan, we get free roam of three hundred acres of forest for an entire week."

Izumi tilted her head to the side. "Huh, I didn't know the clans had so much space inside the village."

"They don't really, most of it is partially cut off by a wall that separates civilians from open forest." their teacher replied. "It's a precaution that the First designed against invaders- but it's gotten rather obsolete over the past several Decades. Sixty years ago the population could comfortably live inside the walls without any problem. Now, though, there are people living outside it and wider patrols outside the old borders. Hunting grounds aren't necessarily watched by regular patrolling shinobi, but they're watched with a close enough eye so that enemy nin can't find shelter there."

Someone put their hand up in the crowd. "Why were those three clans chosen in particular for camping? I heard from my parents that other clans have hunting grounds too, why not the Aburame?"

Nomura-sensei hid a grimace. "That… well, the Aburame are rather particular about the treatment of… some of the fauna…. under their care…."

Fu rolled his eyes. "You mean they'd get pissed if some of us killed a couple of their bugs."

This time their teacher actually did grimace. "Yes, that." She cleared her throat. "In any case, none of you will be leaving the village, _technically_. Though the only thing any of you will see are trees and a couple hunting trails. There's a couple I contacted who have agreed to give us a ride to our camping zone. And we should meet them in exactly..." she looked down at her watch- "...five minutes ago."

Several heads turned to look at Hana, who winced. "My dog got stuck in a fence?"

Nomura-sensei sighed and shook her head.

 **XOXOX**

The couple that Nomura-sensei hired to help were nice and helped everyone into their wagon, piling up their bags at the very back while everyone choose their seats. Hana was squished up at the front next to the teacher, who checked off something on her clipboard.

"Alright, everyone's accounted for." Nomura-sensei nodded at the class and gestured for the two women manning the cart to start moving. "Cheiko-san, Ayano-san, if you could..?"

"Not a problem," Cheiko said, urging the little horse ahead of them to pick up the pace.

Her partner sat up in her seat and looked at the rest of the kids, seeming to do a headcount of her own. "Man, that's a lot of kids to look after. You sure you've got control over them all, Teach?"

Nomura-sensei gave the woman an uneasy smile, turning slightly green when the cart took a sharp turn. "As long as everything goes to plan… I sure hope I do."

The woman cracked a wry grin and sat back down in her seat. "Good plan- kids are little monsters on their own." she shrugged, the cart taking a turn down a road, surrounded by dense trees on both sides. "Anyway- we're just about to head onto a bumpier road. Nomura-san, if you could tell the rest of the kids in the back and… yourself... to hold on tight? That'd be great. Puking in the wagon is a surefire way to make the next five minutes _not_ fun."

Hana hugged her backpack to her chest as Nomura-sensei tucked her clipboard away and got a good hard grip on a railing. With every bump, her teacher looked more and more nauseous, and Hana had to brace herself in case she decided to throw up all over her. Man, Hana did not take Nomura-sensei for a light puker.

The Haimaru brothers were somewhere else on the cart, being passed around the class as usual, with Kemuri staying firmly in Izumi's arms. With each pothole his ears pressed back even further on his head, eyes wide and alert until someone reassured him with head pats and kisses.

Hana rolled her eyes- this was payback for making her late. Kemuri could deal with a couple bumps in the road.

Shinko was pleasantly sitting next to Izumi, chatting pleasantly to her about sewing and how, a couple weeks ago, her dad taught her how to knit and how she was already on her way to making her very first scarf. Itachi was sitting a couple kids away, pinned between Fu, who was trying to engage him in a conversation and Tenma, who was… trying to engage him in combat or something. Regardless, Itachi was looking incredibly nervous with both of the boy's advances, and sent Hana a distressed look from across the wagon.

Hana gave him a thumbs up and urged him to at least look interested in whatever both boys were talking about. The first step to making friends was being super uncomfortable- he was already making his way up in the world. She was so proud of him.

While conversation seemed to die down as their cart jostled and made too much noise riding down the road, Hana had plenty of time to herself to watch the trees go by. Konoha definitely lived up to the title 'Village Hidden in the Leaves'- trees were absolutely everywhere, most of which towered above their little horse and buggy cart, reaching so far up to the sky that Hana had to crane her head back to see fully. Whatever forest they were traveling through was a mixed one, with several different tree types Hana had never seen before.

Birds flit between the branches, and she could faintly hear the call of Macaque monkeys in the distance, hidden by the leaves that they clung to. Hana wondered briefly if she should worry about them while they were camping, but decided to let those fears rest for the moment when she noticed another tree go by with big pink-white blossoms.

She kicked Fu in the shin to get his attention. "Hey- what's that tree called? I've never seen it before!"

He glared at her as he nursed the bruise forming on his shin, but caught a glimpse of what she was talking about as they rode by. " _Bixa Orellana_. People use the seeds as a dye and the plant as a living fence. And, ow? Did you really have to kick me?"

"You were too caught up in trying to get close to Itachi-" Hana quickly got up and stood on the edge of the wagon to snatch a seed pod from another tree that was passing by. In her hands, the red pod was hairy and kinda spiky, but shaped like a heart. She looked back at Fu. "Will I die if I eat this?"

He gave the pod a distasteful look. "I'd rather you not. The fruit of that tree is rumored to be an aphrodisiac."

Hana covered her mouth with one hand to keep in the most embarrassing snort she had ever made. "You shouldn't know the meaning of that word- you're _twelve_."

Fu gave her an unimpressed stare. "Are you forgetting how old you are? Why is it weird for me to know what an aphrodisiac does and not you?"

"Because I said so." Hana quickly tossed the heart-shaped seed pod at Izumi. "Hey Izumi-chan, be my valentine?"

The Uchiha caught it and blinked at her. "What is this? Is it poisonous?"

"Far worse," Hana warned, just in time to watch Izumi flinch and drop the pod in Shinko's lap.

"Here- you take it!"

Shinko hesitated, looking at it. "Whats wrong with it? Why is it covered in hair?"

"That seed pod is supposed to make people want to kiss each other," Hana said, keeping things as PG-rated as possible. Honestly, some of the kids in her class hadn't even gotten _the talk_ yet- they weren't ready to find out about the kind of stuff adults took to get their game on.

Shinko quickly brushed it off her lap. "I… Thank you, but I don't want it, Izumi-chan."

Hana watched the little red seed pod get kicked around the floor of the wagon, before stopping at Tenma's feet.

He briefly glanced at Shinko.

Hana shook her head at him. "You're better than this, Tenma."

He turned a bright scarlet and kicked the seed so hard it bounced off one of the walls, whirring past Nomura-sensei's head.

She gave them all a hard stare, which would've been more terrifying if she wasn't clutching onto her seat with both hands. "If you want to make it to our destination in one piece, I wouldn't do that again." The cart went over another bump, and their teacher winced, turning a deeper shade of green. "...I should've ran beside the cart after all."

Hana shot her a worried look. "Do you need us to stop for a minute or something?"

Nomura-sensei shook her head. "We're almost there… I'll be fine, I just… Wheels. Not used to them."

The kids sitting next to her tried their best to shimmy away from her. Hana was pretty sure the only one really having a problem with the bumpy road ahead of them was their teacher.

About an hour and a half of travelling (tense, because their teacher's stomach was made of glass and every bump could have been their last) eventually the canopy of trees overhead broke away and their class was gifted with the sight of… more trees in the distance. The road dipped down into a hill, and eventually cut through a naturally occurring field, the long grass about waist high when everyone piled out of the cart. For Hana and Itachi, the grass was about chest high, and both of them had to hold their backpacks on their head lest they be lost and never found again.

Nomura-sensei surprised them all when she stayed in the cart. "This field is where we part ways. The purpose of this trip is to test your knowledge and see how long you can survive in the wilderness native to the area. I can't be present for this test to be successful."

Several people objected that idea.

"How are we supposed to know what to do without an adult?"

"What do you mean you're leaving?"

"Aren't there bears out here? Who will protect us?"

Nomura-sensei held up a hand to stop them. "I understand your concern- true, you're still children, but the purpose of your education in the academy is to turn you into capable adults and shinobi. Knowing your surroundings, especially the wilderness surrounding your home village, is paramount to your survival. Before your graduation, I need to know that you paid attention to what I taught you all-" She briefly glanced at Hana, narrowing her eyes at her. "-and sometimes Ninja techniques can't cover everything."

 _Rude of her to single people out,_ Hana thought begrudgingly, _but fair enough._

She had basically rolled into the class already knowing all the material they would cover, a real-life test of their skills in the wilderness would probably weed out any cheaters from the group. You could fake knowledge on paper, but in real life, the stakes were raised a hundred percent. If Hana really was just some hack, she wouldn't be able to last a day in the woods. The camping trip was partially meant for her and Itachi to show that they really were ready to graduate.

It was… kinda touching, actually. Hana had entered the academy with the impression that all of the teachers were quick to judge and didn't care about their students well being (e.g. Iruka, before getting to know Naruto) but Nomura-sensei's test seemed to say otherwise. Was this her own way of showing Hana that she cared about her well being? How sweet.

Still, some people had complaints about their new camping mission. Among the sea of disgruntled children, Hana tried to stand on her tip toes, putting her hand up above everybody's head.

Stickler for rules that she was, Nomura-sensei called on her. "Do you have a question, Hana?"

She nodded, and thankfully her classmates quieted down a bit. "You said you wanted us to survive out in the woods- for how long?"

"As long as possible," Nomura-sensei said, before frowning. "Your parents have all been informed that this trip may take some time- a week and a half is the longest amount of time I've been allowed to give you, though it's probably an overestimation. Most classes usually last four to five days, it's nothing to do with personal skill."

Fū, by Hana's side, raised his hand as well. "While we're on our own, are we allowed to use jutsu at all?"

Nomira-sensei gave him a chilling smile. "No."

Izumi, at Hana's other side, turned pale. "B-but, how are we supposed to make a fire?"

Their teacher reached into her pocket and tossed her a tiny silver chain. "Do it the old fashioned way."

Izumi held up the necklace, staring at the tiny flint shard hanging in the centre. "This… This is cruel." She passed the flint to Hana, discarding it.

"Oh, and another thing." Nomura-sensei adjusted herself up on her cart, eyes flicking over everyone standing before her. "There's twenty three of you present today, since Sen-chan caught the flu. This means that one of the two teams you have to split up into will have an extra person."

Hana groaned, an expression that was mirrored by several other kids. "We have to spit into two groups as well?"

"Not groups, _teams_ ," Fū corrected. "She wants us to compete against each other, in case you couldn't _pick that up."_

Hana's hand shot up again. "Teacher, can I request to be on the same team as Itachi? I don't wanna be stuck in the woods on a team with Fu. All he does is insult me because I'm so much cooler than him."

Fu scoffed. " _As if_."

"So does that mean you insult me because you wanna be me friend?" Hana shook her head at him. "Try giving me flowers next time."

"I'd be happy to be on the same team as you Hana-san," Itachi said diplomatically. "Fu is invited to join us as well."

Nomura-sensei sighed. "Choose whoever you want- just know that you'll be competing with each other for territory and for fire. The flint that I gave you can, and _will_ save your life in this challenge." She gestured for the women manning the car they rode in on to get moving again. "While all of you were distracted, I've taken any shelter or food any of you packed, and sealed them away until the test is over. Should your team decide to forfeit, come to this road"

"And what then?" someone said, raising their hand.

Nomura-sensei smiled as the cart started moving again, as she sat calmly on the back seat. "Start walking."

"Right…" Hana said, as the class stood in shocked silence, their teacher waving goodbye. "This… is gonna suck."

 **XOXOX**

As soon as their teacher disappeared back up the road, everyone came to the same thought:The flint. The flint would save them all from Nomura-sensei's test.

And Hana just so happened to have it in her hands.

"Hey, Hana!"

"Come be on my team, Inuzuka-san!"

"Hana-chan, pass us the flint!"

"We can all work together, join us!"

"This test is stupid, give that to me before you hurt yourself."

"Hey Hana!"

"Hana, Hana, Hana!"

She dropped her backpack and quickly started backing away from everybody. "Whoa whoa whoa, wait a second here. I have the flint- everyone chill out and quit pressuring me."

Fu grunted, crossing his arms over his chest. "This'll take all morning with you in charge."

Hana narrowed her eyes at him. "Izumi, Shinko, you're with me."

"Yes!" Both girls grinned and ran up to Hana's side, happily standing next to her. Izumi looked down at Hana. "Easy decision, huh?"

"The easiest," Hana nodded. She looked out at the rest of the class, looking for a familiar face. When she found it, she grinned. "Yo, Itachi- we already agreed to be a team, get over here!"

He lugged his backpack through the tall grass, coming to a stop by her left hand side. "Thank you for picking me Hana-san."

Hana gave him a thumbs up. "Shorties like us have to stick together, right?"

"Uh, yes?"

Shinko tapped Hana on the shoulder. "Um, Hana?"

"Yeah?"

"Do you think… um.." Shinko looked down at her feet. "Tenma…. Uh…" she gestured towards her friend, still standing with the rest of the class.

Eji and Umino-san were on both sides of Tenma as he gestured wildly for Hana to pick him. Ah, right- Tenma and Shinko were like… a thing? Or wait, Tenma had a crush on Shinko, and she was just nice enough to let him hang around her.

Hana raised an eyebrow at Shinko, and then looked at the rest of her team. "What do you guys think? Should I pick him?"

Izumi wrinkled her nose. "You'll have to pick his friends as well- They're practically joined at the hip."

Itachi hid his discomfort well. "You're the one with the flint, Hana-san."

Hana's eyes briefly looked at Fu, who was standing off to the side glaring at her for not picking him sooner. "Yeah, sure- come on Eji, Tenma and Umino-san. We're all buddies here."

"Yes! Reunited once again." Tenma scampered up to Shinko's side.

Shinko sighed and smiled down at Hana. "Thanks for listening to me, Hana-chan. Tenma didn't bring any camping gear with him and I was worried he'd freeze without a fire."

Tenma turned a bright pink and turned his head off to the side. "Y-yeah, well..." His face turned an even deeper shade of red. "Thank you for looking out for me Shinko-chan…"

" _Ahem_ ," Fu waved a hand at Hana. "Now that the gang's all together, can you pick me now?"

"Nah." Hana looked out at the rest of the class. She pointed at a random tall kid- some girl with a bun. "You- I like what you did with your hair. You're on my team now, what's your name?"

"Hitoshi Mai," she said, bowing her head and quickly scampering over to Hana. "Thank you very much!"

"It's cool, you can reach high up stuff for me," Hana said to her, winking at her. The girl's cheeks turned a bright pink, but she smiled.

Fu crossed his arms over his chest. "Really?"

Hana ignored him and pointed to another kid. A Hyuuga boy (she guessed? His face was rather androgynous) with long brown hair pulled into a ponytail. "You- you're a part of the cool club now. On your way, er…"

"Hyuuga Haruto," he said, bowing his head just like the last kid. "Thank you for choosing me Inuzuka-san."

Hana gave him a thumbs up and gestured for him to stand behind her. "Welcome to the dark side."

Fu shook his head in awe. "Are you _done_ now?"

"One more- you!" Hana pointed at a girl with pale blonde hair. "Lucky winner number ten! Sango-san! You're the only other kid I know by name, get over here kid!"

Sango blinked her bright pink eyes at Hana, looking at the other kids around her, before she sighed and joined Hana's group. She gave a curt bow. "Thank you for choosing me, Hana-san."

"Sorry I separated you from your friends," Hana said, totally not meaning it at all. Sango was the daughter of a fisherman, and Hana picked her because she was hella good at making knots for casting. "This is the fun team though, don't worry about it."

"Is that it? Is that everyone?" Izumi asked, looking at their group.

"She needs one more," someone said from the other team.

Everyone looked at Fu, since, you know, that was Hana's most obvious choice.

"I'm not really feeling it…" Hana squinted her eyes at him. "Do I have to?"

"Hana." Fu put both his hands together. "Don't drag this out farther it needs to go."

She tilted her head to the side. "I mean, as long as I have the flint…"

"Please, just pick me."

"Nahh."

" _Hana_."

"Nooo."

Itachi looked between the two of them. "Maybe you should just pick him, Hana-san."

"Oh Hana-san, why don't you pick Fu and get this over with?" Fu said, imitating Itachi's voice, a couple octaves higher than necessary. "It would be the most obvious choice, Hana-san. I would be _so very happy_ for you to stop stalling."

Izumi squinted at him. "Are you _actually_ trying to make this harder for yourself?"

Hana tossed the flint up and caught it with her other hand, pursing her lips. "Sure is nice weather for camping without shelter."

Fu breathed in deeply through his nose. "Hana, just pick me and get this _over with_."

"Man, is that a river I see over there?" She put her hand up over her eyes.

"Oh my god," a boy said from the other team. "I can't believe she's making us late _again._ "

Fu blinked at the boy. "What are you-"

He- (Hana didn't know the other boy's name personally)- took it upon himself to to grab Fu by the collar of his shirt, dragging him over to Hana. "Make up your mind Inuzuka- is this the kid you want on your team? Is it? Make a decision- NOW, or else I will personally _kick your ass_ for taking so long."

Ah, right. It seemed that she still wasn't forgiven for being late this morning. She actually kinda felt bad for the guy- he just wanted to get moving.

Then again he did threaten to beat her up…

…. Maybe Hana should play nice after all.

Hana looked up at the angry, red-faced tween looming over her. "That… is a compelling argument you make there." She briefly looked at Fu, still at the mercy of the other kid. Hana pursed her lips. "What's your name?"

"Shin." The other kid said, frowning down at her.

"Wanna join my team?"

Fu practically _hissed_ at her.

The older kid narrowed his eyes at her. "No, I do _not._ " He let go of Fu, letting him fall forward onto his knees. "Okay, decision made. The Inuzuka's team is complete- everyone else is with me."

Hana sighed and bent down to help Fu to his feet. "I was gonna pick you anyway."

If looks could kill, Hana would be dead on her feet. He knocked her hand away and got up by himself, glaring daggers at the back of Hana's head.

The other team leader pointed at the Hyuuga in Hana's party. "You- Haruto-san. Is there actually a river around here?"

"Oh, uh." The Hyuuga activated his byakugan. "Yes, down the hill we're on. On either side there's a long rocky shore."

"Good. Our team is taking that place." He gestured for the rest of the kids to start grabbing their bags. "Come on, everyone get moving. We only have so much daylight before it gets dark, and it'll take hours to set up camp and _maybe_ make a fire if we're lucky."

Hana watched them go, looking down at the flint in her hands.

They were the bigger team, most of the kids with the lowest grades. They probably needed the river for food and whatever else they could get- Nomura-sensei had taken their shelter, banned any jutsu… the oldest member of the group was probably thirteen, and none of them looked like they had ever been camping in their lives. While Hana had picked four clan kids, one of which with the byakugan, and had three (dubiously) trained ninken, which she could hunt with. Itachi knew how to shoot a bow and arrow, Fu could already identify the flora and fauna of the area, and Shinko….. Well, she could control Tenma. Who could control Eji and Umino-san. That was like thirty percent of the group already.

And… besides, Hana was an adult. She had a better grasp on what to do than anyone in their class.

She quickly ran over to the other team leader before her could get away. "Hey, I think you need this more than I do."

"I-" He looked down at the flint in her outstretched hand. "Seriously?"

Hana nodded. "My team will probably be fine without it- you be careful setting up camp, okay? Make sure you don't sleep next to your food in case animals come looking for it."

He watched her in confusion as she dropped the flint into his hands. "Uh… thanks..."

She gave him a thumbs up. "Happy camping, leader-kun!"

 **XOXOX**

"I cannot _believe_ you!"

Thwack!

Hana held the top of her head. "Look, okay- he needed it more than we did!"

"That's not the point!" Izumi said, holding back Fu before he could whack Hana upside the head a second time. "The flint was our one shot at have an easy, drama free time! Do you have any idea how long it takes to make a fire from scratch?"

Hana pursed her lips. "I dunno, maybe half an hour?"

"It takes _hours_." Izumi shook her head in despair. "We're actually going to die out here."

Shinko sighed, holding onto the straps of her backpack. We should probably find a place to camp before noon- somewhere close to a natural occuring source of water would be nice."

Itachi nodded, putting on his backpack as well. "I assume we're not supposed to camp close to the other team, right?"

"Correct," The Hyuuga on their team said, his byakugan still active. "There's a creek opposite to the river a little ways off- it's not big, nor are there any fish in it, but it's a good place to camp for a couple days."

"Well, you heard him," Hana gestured for the group to start moving, picking up her backpack.

Itachi cleared his throat. "Other way, Hana-san."

"Right!" She looked at the group. "Maybe I shouldn't be the leader. I have absolutely zero sense of direction."

Fu growled and pointed the group in the right direction. "Everyone- _this_ way."

 **XOXOXOXO**

 **End of chapter 16-**

Thanks to the Beta theaceoflemonades For editing! I'm glad to have some help again! Also, Thanks to ff user Enbi for the sweet new cover! They were super nice and made the one you can currently see above~ oh- and before I forget, Here's a height chart if anyone was interested in more fanart for this story:

( Htt ) ps : .tumblr (dot com) / 0f2535ad4b33203a58c20782cc8a0f77 / tumblr _ obbjaxzuZC1uilz47o1 _

Otherwise, thanks for reading, and I'll see you tomorrow with the next chapter!


	17. Chapter 17 - The Myth Of Bears

**AN:** Er, Sorry about not posting a double update when I said I would- my computer broke down again right after I posted the last chapter.

Thanks to my baeta (wink) theaceoflemonades for editing this chapter at the speed of light, she's the best :D

 **Word count:** 5710

 **XOXOX**

 **Chapter 17 - The Myth of Bears**

 **XOXOX**

Leaving the tall grass behind, the dense cover of trees did very little to help the group find their way around. As it turned out, the forest was no place for a bunch of children, and after half an hour of cursing and falling, everyone just decided to let the Haimaru brothers lead them through the brush.

The trees were certainly taller than back in Konoha, and would have reminded Hana of the old redwood forests from her past life if it weren't for the fact the the rainforest their group was hacking their way through had plants native to East Asia, with long sprawling root systems and wide waxy leaves that collected water.

Despite the fact that Hana had nearly two decades of knowledge and another seven growing up in another world with a completely environment, ethnicity, and background…. she didn't know shit about plants. So, whenever she came across something new that wasn't easily identifiable (or Fu was out of range, so she couldn't ask him) Hana usually looked at it with undisguised trepidation, and came to one of several conclusions:

If it had a strange scent, berries, fruit, some sort of nest, bugs of any kind, or recent activity around it that showed signs of animal activity: She would avoid it like the plague.

Why, exactly?

Because everything in the wild wanted to give you a bad time. Everything. From the dirt under Hana's feet to the bark on the surrounding trees. Mother Nature didn't care who was messing around in her backyard- if you did something stupid, your fate was your own damn fault.

It was pretty much the only outdoor knowledge Hana had picked up after living on an island for the entirety of her past life. Mother Nature was a bitch, but she was a bitch only to those unprepared.

"Damnit-" Hana slapped a hand down onto her arm. "Guys, pull down your sleeves- there's mosquitoes."

"Of course there's mosquitoes," Izumi groaned, zipping up her jacket. Just then, she stumbled and stubbed her toe on an upturned branch, hissing in pain. "I _hate_ the forest."

Hana gave her a hand up, silently agreeing. Unfortunately, mosquito repellent was _not_ one of the things Hasuki put into her backpack. The stuff Konoha sold was just too damn strong for her nose to handle.

A mosquito buzzed by Hana's left ear, and pulling up her hood only made Hana's mood plummet further. Covered in mud up to her shins, already tired and sore from hiking… She certainly felt like Mother Nature's bitch.

"Just a little bit further," Itachi urged, pulling back a branch to let them all pass. "Hyuuga-san said we're almost there."

"Yeah, well, he would," Izumi muttered under her breath. "He's the only one of any use in our group- what does Tenma do again?"

Tenma looked back at her from the front of the group. "Hey- say that to my face next time, hag!"

"What did you just call me?"

Hana ignored the both of them and kept an even, steady pace next to Itachi, weaving through, and occasionally under, the thick brush. The Haimaru brothers were still far in the lead and hopefully wouldn't get lost; navigating the dense forest was almost an impossible job for human beings. She belatedly worried that she might've placed a bit too much responsibility on them- after all, they were still puppies and could get lost at times. Or side tracked. Or… well, anything could happen to them to be honest. The Haimaru brothers were vulnerable, tiny, useless babies, and Hana constantly worried that they'd run into some dangerous animal up ahead of their group and end up hurt.

Only by spamming what little chakra sensing skills she had was Hana able to ease her shaky nerves. The Haimaru brothers didn't technically know how to use their chakra, what little they had, but Hana could at least sense it. It was… different than what human chakra felt like. Similar to Kuromaru, since, well, he was a dog as well, but the Haimaru brothers felt a little different too. Maybe it had something to do with chakra alignments? Hana wasn't a good enough sensor to tell the difference between natures unless they were really apparent. Like Mikoto having a water alignment- though, Hana being able to tell what sort of chakra she had was sorta influenced by Hana's… immediate… feelings… towards her, and Hana's over-the-top desire to focus on pretty people and describe them in the most colorful way possible.

(Mikoto deserved a forty page report on how pretty her face and everything about her was. She just did. The same way Tobirama deserved a trashy romance novel written about him.)

...Anyway.

The Haimaru brothers really weren't that far away from their group according to Hana's godawful chakra sense, so if they did end up in trouble, Hana would probably be able to tell something was going on when their auras (or whatever it was called) started acting strangely. She just had to keep monitoring their signatures and hopefully nothing bad would happen. Honestly, focusing on them was pretty chakra exhausting, but Hana didn't really care, because if anything happened to her ninken she probably wouldn't forgive herself. They were her charges- her little brothers- her babies.

And she would absolutely annihilate anything that so much as scratched them.

After another half hour of tumbling through the thick forest, listening to Izumi and Tenma bicker in the background, they eventually all stumbled upon their destination, bug-bitten and completely exhausted.

The clearing Hauto Hyuuga guided them towards was bigger than Hana first expected. True, there was a creek, which in some places was nothing more than an ankle-deep stream, with various rock pools and seaweed taking root in places shaded from the trees above. In other areas, the creek ran waist or even chest deep for someone maybe Fu or Shinko's height. Hana and Itachi were far too short to reach the bottom of the creek if they tried.

(Which Hana did not. She couldn't walk on water yet and wasn't planning on staying soaked for the remainder of their camping trip.)

Their group eventually settled at the base of a large deciduous tree by the edge of the creek, where the water ran deep and showed no sign of overflowing. They all sat down at the roots of the tree and congratulated both the Haimaru brothers and Haruto for guiding them correctly.

The Hyuuga turned a bright crimson, from his cheeks to the tips of his ears. "I-I only did what i could." He folded his hands on his lap and bit his lip. "Hana-san's ninken deserve the praise- You should be thanking them."

"Nonsense-" Hana clapped him on the shoulder, causing Haruto to jump slightly. "You used your bloodline a dozen times today- you're awesome! Don't be so hard on yourself."

He held eye contact with her for a few seconds with a startled expression on his face, before lowering his gaze. "I… Thank you. But there plenty of clansmen within my family that can hold their byakugan for far longer. I am no exception."

"Relax- it's not a competition." Fu sat himself down on a nearby tree root. "You're like what, eleven?"

"Ten," Haruto murmured.

"Graduating two years yearly is still impressive as a branch member," Fu mused out loud, while Hana eyed him, trying to figure out where he was going with it. "What's your specialization?"

Haruto blinked at him. "Uh- taijutsu and information gathering. I am also training to use a naginata- is there a reason you asked, Yamanaka-san?"

Fu shrugged. "I'm just trying to figure out what our future genin teams will be. You have to be curious, right?"

Haruto pursed his lips. "I… admit… I am, yes. What are your findings?"

"Obviously I'm going to be on an an awesome team with Itachi, right?" Hana said, leaning forward in her seat.

"Oh! Do you think you'll also be paired with Fu-san?" Haruto looked between the both of them. "The three of you seem to have an interesting dynamic."

Hana made a face. "Wouldn't it kinda be a disaster though? Who'd be in charge? Nobody would listen to each other."

"Nobody listens to anybody now, anyway," Fu muttered, resting his back on the tree behind him. "If you ask me-"

"-which I didn't," Hana murmured.

Fu ignored her. "Our genin teams will be split up according to our grade point average, and how we get along with each other. You and Itachi are the top students, unless Nomura-sensei plans on pairing you both with the person with the worst grades imaginable-"

"-Tenma-san has the lowest grade in the class…" Haruto said, before flushing pink and lowering his gaze. "Sorry for interrupting, Yamanaka-san, continue."

"It's fine, never mind." Fu rubbed his forehead, but otherwise let it slide. "If I get stuck on a team with a loud, antagonistic teammate, I think I might go crazy."

"Well, perhaps I'll be on your team Yamanaka-san," Haruto said cheerfully. "Perhaps we'd do good together."

Fu gave him a bewildered stare, but eventually nodded his head, uncertain. "That... could be nice, Haruto. I'd like that."

Hana kept her little smile to herself and let the conversation drop off after that. Seeing Fu gain another friend almost made up for the disappointment she felt from the fact that she probably wouldn't end up on a team with Itachi.

 **XOXOXOX**

Izumi was the first person to run towards the creek and attempt to throw herself into it. "Please, please, _please_ tell me we can drink from this- I think I'm _actually_ melting from the inside out."

Itachi shook his head. "I wouldn't. There could be harmful pathogens inside, and Takada-sensei told us to boil unfamiliar water first." He did, however, stare at the creek with an almost longingly stare, wiping the sweat on his forehead back with the heel of his hand. "It… would be for the best…"

"We should probably refrain from swimming too." Haruto said, inspecting the little stream with his byakugan. "My eyes aren't sensitive enough to see bacteria, and I would rather not chance an infection." He pulled back his long dark hair and tied it into a hasty ponytail, looking at both Izumi and Itachi expectantly. "I don't suppose the sharingan is accurate enough to trace things swimming in the water? It would make things easier..."

"Too bad neither of us have the sharingan," Izumi said, kicking a chunk of dirt into the stream. "It'll take _forever_ to get a fire going hot enough to boil water. Did anyone think to bring a pot?"

Hana dropped her backpack and unzipped the top flap. "My babysitter made sure I came prepared, hold on a sec-" napkins, socks, plastic forks and knives; most of the things Hana took out of her bag were for casual outdoor camping, not live-or-die survival. A couple things were actually missing from her pack, too- her tent, her tarp, her mosquito net. There wasn't a single thing left that Hana could make a shelter out of, and she was already cursing Nomura-sensei's name when she dumped the rest of her bag on the ground.

 _That bitch stole her sleeping bag! Damnit, how the hell was she supposed to get any rest at all now?_

"I'd recommend everyone pool our resources together and search your bags," Hana said, picking up her tiny aluminum pot. She passed it to Itachi, grabbed her empty backpack, and started trekking back towards the edge of the forest. "I'll be back in a second."

Itachi blinked at her. "What are you planning on doing?"

Scream her frustration out into a tree? Hana shook her head. "I'm gonna look for some firewood and stuff to make a shelter. You can come with me if you want."

Looking back at the rest of the group, Itachi shrugged and left the pot by the creek for the others to use.

"It'd be best if nobody went off alone." He ducked under a branch and followed after Hana, the Haimaru brothers once again leading the charge through the thick undergrowth. "Do you know what sticks we should be looking for?"

"Tiny dry ones- we need to get a bunch of kindling if we want to make a fire." Hana held back a branch for Itachi to safely walk past. "I was thinking of cutting down a couple young trees too, for our shelter."

He blinked at her. "You can do that?"

"Of course." Hana pulled a Kunai out of her pouch. "Nomura-sensei wasn't sneaky enough to steal from us all directly. Just our backpacks."

"Oh," Itachi zipped open his holster as well. "If that's the case, I have some fire candies we could use to get the fire started faster. They're flammable."

Hana put an arm up so she wouldn't get smacked in the face by another branch as they kept walking. "Why are they called fire candies?"

"They're given to Uchiha trainees when they start practicing fire jutsu." Itachi held one up for her to see. "They're edible, but are meant to help create the grand fireball technique. I just started learning it a little while ago."

"That's awesome-!" Hana grinned, looking at the little orange sphere in Itachi's hand. It looked about as harmless as a ball of bubblegum. "Do you think it'd be safe to stick in the fire? There won't be like, a giant explosion?"

There was a pause. "I… I'm not sure.."

"Then… we probably shouldn't use it…" Hana sighed and shook her head. "In any case, we might as well start collecting firewood first and worry about exploding candy later."

Hana whistled for the Haimaru brothers to come back, and knelt down by the base of a small sapling, about a couple centimeters thick. She grabbed a hold of it and shook.

"Good, it's still springy." She gestured for Itachi to do the same to another tree. "We'll need to cut down maybe six of these for a frame. Will you be okay carrying that many?"

Itachi looked up the base of the sapling, standing maybe twenty five feet up in the air. "Are you sure we can carry _that many?_ "

Hana sighed. "I keep forgetting that we're the youngest and weakest people in our class... Maybe we should've gotten a couple more hands to help us carry these..."

"We can come back later." Itachi bent down and started picking up sticks and dry leaves. "In any case, fire is our top priority. We can't drink any water without boiling it first." He gestured for her to open her bag. "Does that sound like a good enough plan, Hana-san?"

"Yeah…I guess," she pouted, tucking her kunai back into her holster. "Damn these tiny arms."

Itachi hummed in agreement, loading another bundle of kindling into Hana's backpack.

When they returned, the rest of the group was busy sorting out what items they had, trying to figure out what things were missing and what they actually needed. Fu was busy chewing Tenma out for not bringing anything worth value, Eji and Umino-san were… doing something by the side of the creek, (Frog catching? Anyway, it was pointless.) Shinko and Izumi were trying to make a net out of bark fiber, but had come to a snag. The stuff they were using was too weak to be woven into anything and kept falling apart in their hands.

Hana dropped her backpack full of kindling down in front of them. "Having fun?"

Izumi pouted. "No."

Shinko held up her makeshift net. "Eji and Umino-san found crayfish in the stream a little while up, and we thought we might catch some if we had a net."

"Oh, so that's what they were doing." Hana squinted her eyes, looking upstream. "You think this creek connects to the river somewhere?"

Izumi sat up. "Do you want me to go check?"

Shinko shook her head. "Better not- it could be dangerous."

"I doubt it- we haven't seen anything since settling down." Izumi sighed. "I bet there aren't even any bears around here. Just something Nomura-sensei said to scare us."

"I wouldn't be so sure," Hana said, pursing her lips. "I may not know what bear smells like, but this whole area smells like different animals. It's a popular place for things to come and drink."

Izumi cringed. "I really really hope they aren't real- or at least like, not real in our area. I actually want to live long enough to receive my forehead protector." Eventually though, she looked down at the ruined netting in her hands. "But… I feel pretty useless just sitting around. Is there anything I can do to help?"

Hana nodded, dumping her bag full of kindling at her feet. "You can start working on the fire! I can show you how, it'll be fun."

Half an hour later, Izumi, Hana and Shinko all huddled around an empty fireplace. Hana had dug out the centre and surrounded the little hole with rocks, before filling it with small sticks and dry bark. It was about noon, and the rest of the group had gone back to chop down the few saplings Itachi and Hana had picked out. Fu had told them all to stack whatever they carried back in a neat and orderly pile, and to report back to him if they spotted any unusual looking plants, in case they could be harvested.

Tenma had joined Eji and Umino-san in their fruitless trail of catching crayfish. The only good that came out of their splashing was that they were making noise, so any large animals thinking of sneaking up on them would think twice before attacking a loud, annoying group, with an apparent hatred towards crayfish.

Hana held out a long pale stick to Izumi. "I know you can do this, princess. Just rub your hands together over this stick, and make sure it stays on top of this other one." She whittled a small hole in a second branch with a kunai. "With enough friction, you can make some heat. Simple."

Izumi didn't look so convinced. "I dunno… what do I do when I get a spark?"

"Blow on it," Hana said very seriously. "Be as gentle as possible, but give it all the wind you can muster. Don't give up if it starts smoking- keep trying until you get a flame."

Izumi grimaced, and gave Shinko, who was sitting by her left, still trying to weave a net out of bark, a distressed look. "Will you help me if I get too tired?"

"Of course, Izumi-chan!" Shinko said, giving her a cheery smile. "Don't worry about me leaving- If you need an extra set of hands, I'll be right here, but I know you can do it on your own. I believe in you!"

With a new resolve in the form of Shinko, Izumi took her fire sticks with both hands and got to work. "If I don't get this fire going, I'll eat mud and go on a date with Tenma for being such a failure. I won't let our group down!"

"Do those two have to be mutually exclusive?" Hana cringed and got up off the ground. "I mean, we'll probably all be fine for one night as long as we huddle for warmth or something. You don't have to be that hard on yourself-"

Izumi made a disgusted noise, cutting her off. "As long as you're the one huddling with Tenma for warmth. I refuse to sleep in the dark like a _loser._ "

Hana put both her hands up defensively and took a step back. "Whoa- you're getting really into this. Should I be worried?"

Shinko watched her friend furiously rub two sticks together. "Perhaps Izumi-chan feels a sense of responsibility. The Uchiha are fire breathers, aren't they? Fire is in her veins."

Izumi said nothing, but kept her eyes fixed solely on setting her little bundle of kindling on fire. Her eyes were hard, and Hana was afraid she was actually holding her breath because she was scowling so hard.

"Okay…" Hana cleared her throat. "I guess i'll just… go do something else productive if you've got everything figured out here."

Shinko turned her attention back towards making her netting out of bark. "Thank you for the guidance Hana-chan! I'll make sure Izumi doesn't tire herself out too much." She watched as Hana looked off towards the rest of the group without any real idea what to do next. "Why don't you go ask Fu-san for a job? He's our team leader, isn't he?"

"Yes…" Hana muttered. She was already starting to regret handing the reins over to him- not because she thought Fu would go mad with power or something, but because… she missed… having the power to mess with people… She really missed it. She didn't like taking orders.

Hana sighed and trudged over towards Fu, her heart heavy, before she spotted Itachi walking in the direct opposite direction and made a beeline for him. She could put off bowing down to another leader for later.

"Whatcha doin, dude? My buddy, my pal?" Hana asked, nudging Itachi in the side with her elbow once she caught up to him. "Something important? Something I could help with?"

"Fu-san asked me to collect some local plants for him." Itachi raised an eyebrow at her. "According to him, some of our classmates have seen what looks like coriander, lemongrass, and shiso herb, which could be useful later on when we actually have food to cook."

Hana nodded thoughtfully and followed after him. "Interesting- what's shiso herb? I've never heard of it before."

Itachi lead her onto a trail and made sure to hold back a branch so that Hana could duck underneath it. "It's a member of the mint family-"

"-Ugh, really? Then I'm probably deathly allergic to it or something," Hana said, grimacing.

Itachi stopped in his tracks. "You're sure of this?"

Hana squirmed at the seriously concerned look on his face. "Well, ugh, I probably wouldn't die if i ate it, but mint kinda messes with my nose if I breathe it in too much. Also, like, my mouth gets all numb if I eat it, and I've heard you can get really severe migraines and stomach cramps if you have too much. If Fu wants to use mint in our cooking, it'd probably be for the best if we made sure nobody else has any allergies in our group."

Itachi nodded and continued down on their little path, stopping every so often to inspect the local flora. "I didn't know you were allergic to anything, Hana-san."

"Yeah, well…" Hana kicked at a stone in the ground. "I didn't know you carried sweets in your pockets."

Itachi frowned. "Those are for training purposes. They aren't really candy."

"Oh come on, if you could carry dessert around in your pocket without your clan finding out, would you?"

Itachi pursed his lips and seemed to think it over. "It wouldn't be practical though. A ninja carries only what he needs at all times in case of danger."

Hana raised an eyebrow at him. "And sweets don't count? What if you have a sudden craving for sugar out on a mission?"

"Then… I suppose…" Itachi frowned and looked up at her. "What are you trying to convince me to do, exactly?"

Hana shrugged and shoved her hands into her pockets. "I have no idea what you're talking about. I just thought you might appreciate snacking on candy from time to time."

And it had absolutely nothing to do with Hana secretly trying to push Itachi to enjoy things he actually liked, instead of what his clan told him to enjoy.

Itachi sighed and continued down their little trail, not giving Hana any indication whether or not he picked up on her secret agenda. "How was Shinko when you left her?" he asked suddenly, out of the blue.

Her confusion was probably written all over her face when she said: "Bwah? Shinko? What do you mean?"

"She's close with Tenma, but she's also close with Izumi… I wondered if there was anything going on," was all he said over his shoulder.

"It's too soon to tell, but-" Hana stopped in her tracks and gave Itachi a curious stare. "Are you… actually _interested_ in school gossip all of a sudden?"

Itachi gave her a blank stare. "It was just a question, Hana-san. No need to look into it."

"Whoa whoa whoa- hold on a moment here. I'll take what I can get." Hana elbowed him in the side. "I thought you weren't interested in gossip. Don't tell me- you're branching out from those days when you watched the others. Are you metamorphosizing? Are you turning into a social, gossiping butterfly like Fu?"

Itachi shook his head and started walking through the forest again. "I shouldn't have said anything- forget I asked."

"Oh, come on!" Hana raced to keep up with him. "Gossip is fun! Especially when you have other people to gossip with. Thats one of the things friends are for," she clasped her hands together and trailed after Itachi. "Gossip with meee, it could be fuuuun."

Itachi gave her a vaguely uncomfortable look. "It's… really none of our business, you know. I just wondered if Shinko perhaps preferred Izumi's company to Tenma's."

"See! That's interesting! It sparks a conversation! Have any other thoughts?"

Itachi pursed his lips, still looking out of his element, but a little more interested. "Izumi doesn't seem to like Tenma, considering how they argued all the way here."

"Yes!" Hana pat him on the back, despite the fact that none of this was new information. "You've uncovered a secret love triangle Itachi, good work!"

"I don't feel like it," he sighed. "Besides, aren't love triangles cliche? They only happen in stories, Hana-san."

Hana slung an arm around his shoulder, turning him around so that they were both facing the way they came from. She waved her arm in the air, and said: "My friend, _life_ is a story- Gossiping is the best way to share parts of it."

Itachi shrugged her arm off. "If that's the case, Tenma, Shinko and Izumi's story doesn't deserve my own added to the mix. Why not let them figure things out?"

"Because…" Hana pouted, floundering for words. "I... I dunno, I don't have anything better to do." She puffed out her cheeks. "You're no fun."

Itachi ignored her in favor of plucking a handful of sweetly smelling plants up from the ground. "Fun won't help us pass Nomura-sensei's test."

Hana sighed and knelt down next to him. "Fine, _whatever_." She felt her shoulders sag as she threw a couple cloves of lemongrass into Itachi's growing pile. "I'll help you collect your lame plants."

He nodded, and a couple moments of silence followed them before Itachi looked back at her. "Are you upset with me, Hana-san?"

Truthfully, she wasn't, but Hana pouted and looked off to the side. Maybe if she milked this opportunity for what it was worth, she could convince him to stop calling her Hana-san, and go for -chan or -kun or really anything as long as it wasn't the overly polite, and distant 'san'. She wanted to be buddies with Itachi, damnit. San made her feel like they were colleagues or business partners or something. If she could be on a first name basis with him, as just... Hana, she could rest easy at night.

"I'm not mad."

Itachi frowned. "Your tone of voice… states otherwise."

Hana crossed her arms over her chest, avoiding eye contact. "I don't know what you mean."

He squinted at her. "That's... rather… hm."

"What was that?"

Itachi looked away from her. "Nothing."

Hana narrowed her eyes at him. "Itachi, were you about to accuse me of being passive agressive?"

Itachi made the very wise decision to stare at a tree. "You must've mistaken me Hana-san, I wouldn't have said something like that to you."

"Of course." Hana shook her head. "I just think it's funny that-"

 _ **CRASH-!**_

Both Hana and Itachi had Kunai in their hand, looking off at the source of the noise. Something was pushing its way through the forest, snapping sticks under its feet with zero care about its presence.

They both knelt low to the ground. "Do you think it's a bear?"

Itachi pursed his lips. "If it is, I doubt we can take it on. It'd just get angry."

Hana cursed under her breath. "See, this is why it's a bad idea to throw a bunch of kids into the forest with nothing but a couple throwing knives. Bears are hundreds of pounds and have _wolverine claws_. We're doomed."

"What's a wolverine?" Itachi whispered.

"A superhero- but also like a small, angry weasel." Hana shook her head. "I'll tell you more about it back at camp- do you know how to tree walk yet?"

Itachi nodded. "My dad made sure I knew how to before going on this trip. You?"

Hana pursed her lips. "I… ugh…" she pointed to the nearest tree. "I can probably climb that one with a bit of help. The branches are low enough."

The crashing still hadn't stopped when Hana took a shot at climbing up the tree. Itachi was a little bit wobbly, standing perpendicular to the ground, and honestly didn't look like he was having a good time helping her up, but somehow they managed walking up the base of the tree on his own. The two of them perched up on one of the highest branches that could hold them, but close enough to the ground so that they could take a shot at whatever came by with the Kunai.

They both held their breath, and waited for the crashing to come closer.

A couple heartbeats later, a large lumbering shape pushed through the foliage, sniffing the tiny trail their footprints had left in the grass.

Hana's jaw dropped, but a second later Itachi slapped his hand over her mouth.

"Dont. Make. A. _Sound,_ " he whispered, even though Hana was pretty sure he was just as freaked out as she was.

She nodded her head, and soon enough, he took back his hand. She gestured for him to lean closer so she could whisper in his ear, the grizzly sniffing the area where they once stood. "Do you think it'll go back to the camp?"

Itachi swallowed. "We can't let it get back- our class won't stand a chance."

Hana chewed on her bottom lip. "The Haimaru brothers are back there too." She cursed again. "Damnit, I should've had them mark the area. At least then the bear would've known there are people here."

"I think it knows," Itachi said, looking down with wide eyes. Hana followed his gaze.

The grizzly was standing up on both feet, staring up at the two of them with its tiny, beady black eyes.

"Shit," Hana said. "Fuck, fuck, fuck, _fuck_. Go away, go away; oh _god_."

Itachi cleared his throat. "I dont think it can understand you cursing at it."

The grizzly put its big meaty paw on the tree trunk, digging its claws into the back.

Itachi paled. "I _really_ wish I had a bow and arrow."

Hana grabbed his arm. "Itachi, I know _you're_ probably not going to die here, but if _I_ you do, I just wanna say-"

The grizzly took its paw off the tree and lumbered back off into the forest.

"That that bear is a punkass bitch and I'm going to live forever, holy _shiiiiiiiiiiiit_." Hana let out a big breath and let herself slump back on her perch.

Which really wasn't a good idea, because just then, Hana's foot slipped.

And Itachi's hand missed the back of her collar, grabbing at nothing but air.

But instead of falling to her death via the ground, Hana ended up being caught by an entirely different force.

An unknown shinobi with hard, unreadable eyes.

 **XOXOXOX**

 **AN:** According to some of you the link i posted last chapter to the height chart i made doesn't work. You can head to my tumblr, **Ninkenten** (dot tumblr, dot com) and go to my Project Hana tag to see it (and any art) I've done for this story, so i don't have to keep posting code here. (I can also answer anonymous questions and take requests and stuff, it'd be fun)

 **Question for the awesome reviewers:** Who do you think would will show up later in this story? Who would you like to see Hana being bros with/antagonizing?


	18. Chapter 18 - In The Thick Of It

**An:** Sorry for the cliffhanger! And the break in updates, again… rip. I can't seem to sit on pre-written chapters for the life of me, so now…. I mean, i'm done writing the camping ark, but the beta says it's too long to post in just one chapter…. 20K would probably kill you guys, right? I'll…. Split it and update… as soon as possible again… haha…

*Gore warning for the later part of this chapter. Nothing horrifically graphic, but it's nice to know what's coming, right? And like, I plan on keeping this story at T for a reason….

 **Words:** **8,725**

 **X**

 **Chapter 18 - In The Thick Of It**

 **X**

Anbu Hound sighed, narrowing his eyes at the Anbu recruit holding Inuzuka Hana by the back of her jacket. "You weren't supposed to intervene, Jackal."

"Captain, _please,_ " Jackal made a dismissive noise in the back of his throat, jostling the young academy student when he turned around in the tree to face his superior. "What was I supposed to do? Let the stupid kid fall to her death?"

"Fall, yes," Hound noted, nodding his head. "It's her own fault she hasn't learnt how to tree walk. Your job was to make sure she fell _correctly_ without alerting either of them to your presence. You didn't just fail, you didn't even try."

Jackal scoffed. "It was the easiest way to go about things. Would you have wasted the chakra instead?"

"Yes."

"Well how was I supposed to-"

"Do you have any idea what special ops even means?"

"Come on now-"

"This is going on your file."

"Um, excuse me? Anbu-san?"

Jackel and Hound turned their attention towards the other academy student perched higher up in the tree.

Itachi Uchiha fidgeted on the branch he sat on. "Do you think you could release my friend... please?"

"What? Oh," Jackal looked down at the girl, slowly slipping out of her jacket, eyes wide and face pale. "What do you say, runt? Shall I let you go?"

Hana narrowed her eyes at him. "Don't call me that."

Jackal cocked his head to the side. "What- _runt_? Do you have any idea how little you weigh?"

She made a move to kick him.

"Ah ah ah! Watch it, I might decide to let you fall after all," Jackal said, turning his white porcelain mask towards his superior. "I know I'm getting marks docked off for this, but the mission's still good right?"

Hound sighed again, almost wishing he could remove his mask so he could rub his temples. _Evaluating new units always gave him such a headache._

"Sure, whatever. Zero times zero is still _nothing_ , but I can't penalize you for finishing the job." He shook his head, stifling a yawn. "I would've liked to go home early though."

"What, to an empty apartment with nothing inside? This is the highlight of your day captain, at least try to enjoy it a bit," Jackal huffed, jerking the brat in his arms away again as she struggled to get free.

Hana spat at him. "Your hands are so sweaty- quit hauling me around like a ragdoll and let me go!"

"Now, is that really what you say to someone who saved you?" Jackal behind his mask. "Besides, I'd like to see you try, runt."

The Inuzuka's eyes blazed, and Hound repressed the urge to groan. "Please stop antagonizing the non combatives, Jackal. They _are_ clan affiliated after all, think of how this must reflect on ANBU."

"Oh come on," Jackal said, jostling Hana a little bit more are she glared daggers at him and slipped a little bit further out of her jacket. "She's Inuzuka, she's practically a walking chewtoy. Getting picked up and carried around is part of what we do."

"We?" Itachi intoned from his tree branch. "You're in the same clan?"

"Uh." Jackal tensed. "No?"

Hound shook his head. "Jackal, let her go, that's an order. We're wasting daylight."

"Fine, okay, just let me-" Jackal tensed as two little hands grabbed onto his arm and wouldn't let go. He shot Inuzuka Hana a look. "What are you doing? Let go."

Hana kicked at the air in an attempt to latch onto him further. "Hold still- I can't pin down your scent right. What kind of blocker are you using? It's annoying."

"I'm _not_ telling you," Jackal sneered. He shook her back and forth in an attempt to make her grip slip. "Cut that out-! Seriously-"

"Hana-san, maybe you should listen," Itachi intoned from his branch.

Jackal shook her again as her fingers dug into the soft part of his armour, and she froze as the sound of a zipper coming undone sounded out.

Hound clenched his teeth and put up a hand to stop him. "Jackal, wait-"

"aaAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA-!"

Jackal looked at the empty jacket in his hand. "Shit."

Itachi almost jumped out of the tree to grab his friend if it weren't for the restraining arm Anbu Hound put on him. "Dont-"

"This is the second time she's fallen in five minutes! Anbu-san, please-"

"Jackal," Hound jerked his head towards the sound of breaking branches and high-pitched cursing as the academy student plummeted to the ground. "Do your job right this time."

The black ops member nodded, and dove after her.

X

In retrospect, antagonizing a specialized military operative probably wasn't the best idea. In fact, Hana came to the conclusion that she had come up with a lot of really really shitty, awful ideas as her body slammed into each and every branch on the way down.

The whole situation was disorienting and painful, and Hana was falling too fast to grab onto any of the particularly thick branches as she slammed into them.

 _Ack-!_ Hana's face smacked into a stick, and her eyes immediately watered up in pain- Dammit, at this rate, if she ever made it to the ground n time she'd be grateful.

Actually, wait, no, the ground was definitely one of her main concerns. In fact, this whole situation was awful and Hana wanted out.

"Ah, screw it-!"

Hana's fingers came together to form the proper hand signs for the substitution jutsu, right before her body hit the ground.

 _Poof-!_

And then she was back up in the air, falling at the same damn speed and getting the same damn branches smacking her in the face as before.

"God-"

Smack-!

"Fucking,"

Smack-!

"Damnit!"

Hana hissed as she clawed at the nearby branches for something to grab onto. Damnit- how did ninja make this look so _easy_? Here she was, about to fall to her death, while any other competent person with chakra made falling like like a goddamn _art form-_

"Gotcha," said the masked anbu- or secret Inuzuka or whatever, as he appeared right in front of her with a well-timed body flicker. Hana was quick enough to witness him grab onto her, before she was tumbling across the grass, limbs flying and turf getting everywhere.

When she came to a full stop, she coughed, and dragged her hand through her hair to get it out of her face. She- wait, what happened to her hair elastic? Did it actually snap? God damn it-

"What," Hana spat, trying to get rid of the taste of dirt in her mouth. "Was that."

"A rough landing," Said Anbu Hound, appearing next to his companion with Itachi under his arm. He let the Uchiha go a second later, giving Itachi an affirming nod to see if he was okay. "Jackal- next time you grab someone out of the air, try to hold onto them next time. This is-"

"Going on my record, yes captain, I know," Jackal muttered, rubbing the back of his head. He looked as if he wanted to shove his hands in his pockets like a sullen teenager, but thought better of it. "We can work around the border as we were before. If you want to bring out your summons at anytime-"

"This is your assignment. I'm not helping," was all Hound said.

Jackal's shoulders tensed. "Yeah, i know, i was just going to say it probably let us go home quicker if you did. I don't expect you help out of the goodness of your heart-"

"Then don't, period." Hound muttered as he got up, stretching as he did so. "I'm not going to hold your hand when this is supposed to be your evaluation. You're not going to be assigned to a squad if you can't follow simple orders."

"Hey, if you just wanted her to fall-"

"Discreetly. Without being spotted-"

"It was easier-!"

"Uh," Itachi murmured, padding over to where hana sat in the dirt. They both watched the two Anbu fight with confused, slightly anxious expressions on their faces. "Are you okay?"

"I guess?" Hana dusted off her pants, accepting the hand up from itachi when he offered it. "Did you know anbu were all…. So chatty?"

"I had no idea," Itachi murmured, bending over to pick something up off the ground. "Here, this is yours."

Hana took the shredded hair band and ran another hand through her hair. "I'll have to ask Fu or someone for a new one, thanks." She straightened up when ANBU Hound tossed her jacket to her. She blinked at him. "Uh, thank you."

"Don't mention it," Hound said, his voice low and even. "I mean it. Try to keep this meeting between us."

Hana's lips thinned. "What if the other kids ask what happened?"

"Just return to your camp and keep your heads down if you hear anything," the Anbu murmured, watching them both intently. There was a shift in his posture that indicated that he was deep in thought, but didn't say anything on the matter. Instead, he rolled the tension out of his shoulders and brought his hands together into a hand seal. "If you have to say anything, try to leave out the part where Jackal hauled you around like a ragdoll."

"Captain, please-"

Poof-!

Anbu Jackal groaned at the cloud of smoke left behind by his superior, and brought his hands together to follow after him. He glanced at hana under his mask.

"Try not to attract any more attention to yourself," He said, before disappearing.

And then the spot he had stood in was filled with more smoke and leaves, and Hana and Itachi were alone once more.

A heartbeat of silence followed in ANBU Hound's departure.

"I think I prefered worrying about the bear," Hana murmured, to have Itachi sigh in response. She turned to him. "Do you think it'd be dangerous to tell the others?"

"They're tracking someone- it could be serious." Itachi frowned, looking off to the side. "If we tell the group, they could panic."

"Better than letting them wander around not knowing, right?" Hana scratched the back of her head, nervously laughing when she looked up at the tree she had fallen from (twice, considering her botched body replacement). "In any case, I'd rather talk about this somewhere with less a chance of a bear returning. Wouldn't you?"

Itachi's eyes widened. "Yes- definitely. After you?"

Hana snorted and started leading the way back to camp. "Always so polite, tsk-tsk."

X

"I'm so glad the two of you are okay!"

Hana and Itachi shared a glance as Shinko pulled them both into a concerned hug. Hana awkwardly pat the older girl on the back as she held onto them tighter, rambling on about the dangers the youngest members of the class faced, going up against bears and whatnot. Neither Hana nor Itachi said anything about the Two ANBU, and came to the decision on the way back to camp that they would let the truth out when most of the group was asleep.

Still, getting smothered-over by a terrified Shinko put a knot of guilt in Hana's stomach.

"Idiots!" Fu wapped the three of them on the top of their heads, splitting them apart and making Hana forget her gilt momentarily. "You should've known better than to antagonize an animal like that- bears can climb trees! Didn't you learn anything when we went over wilderness survival?"

"Climbing a tree was the first thing that came to mind..." Itachi murmured, rubbing the top of his head where Fu whacked him.

"So mean, Fu-kun..." Shinko pouted, puffing out her cheeks. He returned the gesture by pulling one of her pigtails. "Ow!"

Hana held her forehead with both hands, big fat crocodile tears in her eyes just to make the Yamanaka feel worse. "Why did you have to hit me the hardest? it's not like it was my fault it came after us..."

He whacked her again. Apparently, he didn't feel bad disciplining them with his fists. "What kind of prodigy doesn't learn tree-walking when going into a forest? You could have died and traumatized Itachi for life- don't make me look like the bad guy when everything you did was stupid and unnecessarily _reckless_."

"Fu..." Shinko let her hand drop from Fu's arm when he turned on his heel and stalked off to the other side of the camp, very obviously pissed with them if his retreating body language meant anything.

He even went so far as to brush past Izumi as she finally got a couple sparks going for their fire, his brisk movement blowing out the few tiny coals she had gotten going after an hour and a half of hard work. Her face quickly turned from a shocked white, to a boiling shade of red.

"What the hell is your problem, _jackass!?_ "

Hana gulped and ducked her head, hoping Izumi's choice in words wasn't influenced by her own dirty mouth, and by someone else. Nine year olds usually didn't use that kind of language unless someone around them taught them to... right?

Hana covered her face with her hands. She was going to hell for being such a bad influence on these kids.

"She shouldn't speak that way about Fu," Itachi murmured to her left. He seemed just as much disturbed about Izumi's cursing as Hana was, but for slightly different reasons. "The clan doesn't like language like that. "

"Fu's just upset you two almost got hurt," Shinko sighed, taking in the sight of Izumi desperately trying to get her fire going again. "And I don't think she meant cussing him out- or, well, maybe she did, but she's just upset as well. Izumi-chan has been working really hard to get the fire going for everyone, it's been her only job so far."

Hana sighed, watching the Uchiha glare at the spot Fu disappeared off to, before setting back to work. "This is my fault- I should've taught myself how to tree walk and spared everyone this mess in the first place."

"Don't blame yourself-" Itachi was quick to defend, but hana put up a hand to quiet him.

"No, Fu was right. I messed up the body replacement jutsu trying to save myself the first time, and i could've caught myself sooner if i just knew how to channel chakra into my feet. I should've mastered the skill a long time ago, I've gotten lazy keeping up with jutsu training."

Shinko frowned, brushing a leaf out of Hana's hear in an almost sisterly quality. "How did you manage to land safely anyway? If Itachi couldn't catch you and you couldn't catch yourself... What happened?"

"Uh," Hana and Itachi looked at each other, and at the same time, said: "Nothing."

"It all worked out fine," Itachi consoled, nodding to the Sauna girl.

Hana gave Shinko a thumbs up. "Don't worry about it! I'm okay and that's all that matters!"

Shinko didn't seem so convinced, but gave into their peer pressure. "If you say so..."

X

Once alone, Hana let herself get more serious.

"Ha-!" Another swing at the tree she had been practicing at, gained another notch just above her previous one, twelve metres up the trunk. It was an energy intensive practice, learning how to tree walk, but Hana grit her teeth and wouldn't stop until she made it all the way up to the top. Bears and Anbu be damned.

"Aha-!"

Another swing, this time with no improvement. Hana backpedaled down the side of the tree, never taking her eyes off her last mark. She glared at it. Here she was, an adult in a child's body, still struggling with the practice of mastering even the most basic chakra skills. Fu was right, she _wasn't_ a prodigy. She was struggling like a real seven year old would, and it annoyed the _hell_ out of her.

 _Swing-!_

Her next mark got a little higher than her last, but it didn't satisfy her. No, she wouldn't be happy until she got to the top, and maybe even not after that. She felt so... so useless in her body. So restricted. The feeling usually came and went since growing up again, and this was just another instance of it, but it frustrated Hana to _no end_. She flung her Kunai to the ground and sat down, muttering obscenities to herself.

What kind of adult was she? It was such a stupid exercise- Even civilian-born kids like Sakura managed to pull off tree walking like it was nothing. Why couldn't Hana? Why the hell was this so _difficult?!_

"Stupid freaking- Oh, you're here," Izumi said, halting in her angry stomping through the forest. Noting Hana's tense posture, Izumi pursed her lips and looked away. "Fu piss you off too? Or am I reading too far into things?"

Hana shook her head exasperatedly. "Yamanakas are good at getting into your head, huh?"

"Tell me about it," Izumi moaned, collapsing down next to her. She leant back on her arms and looked up at Hana's tree, whistling at the dozens of scratches marking up its side. "You really went to town on that thing, huh?"

Hana poorly concealed her grimace. "I was trying to teach myself how to tree walk."

"Already?" Izumi shot her a look. "aren't you a bit young to start learning?"

"No." The dark aura coming from her friend was enough to make Izumi shudder. "I should be mastering other things by now. I'm better than this."

"You, maybe," Izumi said, shrugging. "But most seven year olds I know are just learning how to do basic math. You though... You never had a problem with that, didn't you?"

Hana pursed her lips and looked at her hands. "Not really.."

"Which is strange, since I don't think I've ever seen you crack open a math book." Izumi nudged her in the side. "Just sketchbooks, right?"

"Yes..." Hana ducked her head in embarrassment. "Do you have a point?"

"You're really smart Hana-chan. You shouldn't have to beat yourself up about not mastering a physical skill, when your body is only playing catchup to all the cool stuff going on in your brain." She shot her a playful smile, and ruffled Hana's hair. "You're not doing that bad- don't let whatever Fu said to you get into your head."

"Thanks..." Hana smoothed her hair back into place, missing the hair elastic that kept it in its usual ponytail. Her long brown hair was long enough to pool out the back of her hood. "Hey, weren't you angry with Fu too? What's with the sudden pep talk? not that I'm not grateful..."

Izumi opened her mouth, before she narrowed her eyes. "You know what? Yeah, I am still pissed at him. The jerk killed my fire, and I wanted to blow off some steam." She shook her head, and scrunched her nose up at a sudden thought. "I just... Seeing you look so serious didn't sit well with me. I guess I forgot I was angry."

"Oh," Hana murmured, pursing her lips. "You're welcome? I guess?"

"Yep." Izumi's cheery grin grew wider, so much so that it was almost painful to watch her. "Everything is okay now, right?"

"Yeah..." Hana narrowed her eyes at the uchiha, taking in her tense posture and white knuckles resting on her knees. Suddenly, she understood. "You heard about me and Itachi almost getting attacked by a bear."

Izumi let out a giant gust of hair and covered her face with her hands, letting her dark hair fall forward into her face. "I can't believe you two- you could've died! And i- i had no idea..."

For the second time in the span of four hours, Hana awkwardly pat the back of her other remaining female friend. It was weird- Izumi and Shinko were different people, but apparently, they spent enough time together to worry similarly. Who was the next person Hana had to console? Tenma? if Hana had to pat Tenma's back too, she'd have to draw the line after that. She just... couldn't handle that many people being upset around her in one sitting. She wasn't good making people feel better- she didn't know what to say.

Izumi batted Hana's arm out of the way. "Stop- i dont want you to make me feel better. You were the one who nearly got attacked by a bear AND fell out of a tree, not me." She shot Hana a look when the Inuzuka gave her another awkward pats. "Didn't you hear what i said?" she sniffled.

"Uh." Hana withdrew her hand. "Usually when I pat someone's back, they feel better and stop crying. I haven't had to come up with someone new after that."

Izumi sniffled again, tucking a few strands of hair behind her ear as her face got red. "I'm not crying."

"Of course not," Hana said sagely, folding her hands on her lap. "And you also don't have a crush on Itachi."

Izumi's jaw dropped. "I do not!"

Hana raised an eyebrow at her. "You act sweet and cutesy whenever you two interact. It's not that hard to figure out."

Izumi scrunched up her nose again, her cheeks deepening in colour. "I do not..." she said weakly.

"Mmm... You tried really hard to get that fire going. Could it be that... you were trying to impress someone?" Hana stroked her chin thoughtfully. "Busted."

Izumi gaped at her. "I wanted to impress Shinko! She believed in me so much, and I wanted to prove to her that I could do it!" she sunk back down and balled her hands up in her lap after that. "I couldn't though. The only time I managed even a spark, it got blown out by a stupid boy and his stupid rampaging ponytail- argh!" She threw her hands up in the air. "What's his problem anyway?"

"I think he was just worried about us, and didn't know how to deal with Itachi and me getting into danger," Hana confessed. "I don't think he's had a lot of close friends before."

"Yeah, well, he can suck it up," Izumi muttered, crossing her arms over her chest. "You might've skipped a couple grades before joining our class, Hana, but Ive been around long enough to watch him rebuff every attempt at friendship extended to him. It's not like he's shy or anything, he just doesn't seem to care." She locked eyes with Hana. "Maybe this time is different, since he's worrying about you and everything, but i dunno. I've seen a couple nice kids get their feelings hurt. I don't want you to be next."

Hana pursed her lips and mulled the thought over. Sure, she knew Fu had a manipulative, petty side, but Fu was twelve, how _bad_ could he really be? Everyone was a jerk when they were young, it was just a part of growing up.

"In any case-" Izumi got up off the ground, hauling Hana up to her feet as well. "Supper's supposed to be happening soon. Eji and Umino-san are cooking crayfish."

Hana blinked at that, following the Uchiha as they made their way back to camp. "Oh? and who made the fire?"

Izumi's face turned red with embarrassment. "Itachi did."

"There goes your chance to impress him," Hana teased.

Izumi pushed her into a bush.

X

"You tell them."

"No- _you_ tell them, why does it have to be my job?"

"I don't want to."

"Uh, guys?" Shinko was watching Hana and Itachi whisper to each other over the fire. "Is everything okay?"

Hana sent Itachi a quieting glare, before turning to the older girl. "Yes! Everything's fine! Itachi just wanted me to... ugh, explain something to him."

"Oh?" Tenma asked, looking up at the two of them from his food with a scowl. "Something the great Uchiha prodigy doesn't know? spill Inuzuka."

"Uuuuh," Hana looked at Itachi, and it was his turn to give her a meaningful stare. He... the little jerk knew she had backed herself into a corner and wasn't going to bail her out. _Fine_. She could play with that. She squared her shoulders and let the tension bleed out of her face. "Itachi wanted me to explain how babies were made."

Said Uchiha nearly spat out his drink.

Tenma let his mouth hang open, mid-cew. "What?"

Hana continued. "It's nothing to be ashamed about- It's part of being human. He's expecting a little brother soon and I guess he was just wondering-"

Itachi put a hand on her shoulder. "Hana-"

Shinko, across from them, was struggling to breathe.

"It's a natural part of life, I mean. Everyone has to have the talk sometime. You can't go on believing a stork can carry a human child for your entire life after all. It wouldn't be right. We're training to be shinobi, a growing boy's gotta know, you know?"

"What's this about a stork?" Haruto Hyuuga politely asked, dragging a sulking Fu behind him. They both sat down with food in their hands, missing the start of their conversation.

(Fu hadn't spoken to her since storming off. He seemed both embarrassed at the outburst, and still tense.)

Shinko's face was quickly turning red. "S-she, No, I-Itachi w-wanted to know h-how-"

"Babies..." Tenma said quietly. He looked up at hana with a suspicious look on his face. "They're made? What, like in a factory?"

Shinko choked and muffled her gross cackling into the palms of her hands. It was Tenma's turn to go a shade of pink now, to match Itachi.

"It was just a question!" He defended, embarrassed.

Hana was fighting to keep her composure. "I think... I should've kept my mouth shut..."

Itachi very quickly nodded his head, his face a blazing crimson. "You have a talent for creating embarrassing, uncomfortable social gatherings, Hana-san."

Hana bristled. "It's not my fault, I-" she paused, and looked around the group to see who was follow. Besides Shinko, nobody actually looked... as if they knew what she was talking about.

Looking as if the embarrassment they felt was more secondhand, than anything.

Hana narrowed her eyes.

"When two people kiss, what happens?" she asked the group of children. She got a couple varied responses.

"People shouldn't kiss until they get married," Haruto said, quite clearly quoting something an adult told him.

Fu didn't look like he wanted to join in, but did so anyway because he lived for stating his opinion. "That's something gross adults do. You get diseases from it."

Tenma watched as Shinko fought to keep back another fit of laughter, before he looked down at his hands and bushed. "When two people kiss, it means they really l-love each... other..."

"Good, good." Hana nodded, she skipped over Shinko, since, well, she already knew what Hana was trying to get at, before her gaze landed on Itachi, and he flinched. "Tell me what you know, boy genius."

"Uh." Itachi looked like he wanted to run away. "The same as what the others said?"

"So you really... have no clue..." Hana looked at him with a mixture of pity and something else. some feeling she couldn't quite pin down. Like, she wanted to tease him mercilessly, if he had been older and another person, but the guilt held her back. The poor boy honestly didn't know the truth, and... maybe that was a good thing. This version of Itachi she was with was so innocent, Hana felt… a little vile? Just bring up The Talk. Maybe... maybe she'd tell him later on, but for now, she let him mutter some excuse to leave and scamper off to the other side of the camp, a sigh leaving her.

Until of course, the others started hounding her.

Tenma grabbed her by the front of her jacket and pulled her out of her chair. "How are they made Inuzuka- Shinko's crying, I need to know!"

Sure enough, Sinko's face was red and her eyes watering, but not out of sadness. The poor girl had laughed herself into a fit of tears.

Hana brushed her long hair out of her face, and, feeling the eyes of both Haruto and Fu on her, said: "do you really want to find out?"

X

"I am... disgusted." Haruto murmured, His hands neatly folded on his lap as the other children shifted uncomfortably.

They had drawn a couple more children in at some point, and instead of Hana explaining the talk to three kids, plus shinko who already knew, she explained it to seven. Again, plus Shinko, Who chimed in every so often with a random exclamation of glee or with a strangely correct medical fact.

She sat next to Tenma and mostly smothered her cackling into her backpack, her face still as hot as the sun.

"I'd like to think this has all brought us closer together," Hana awkwardly said, her own face bright and red as the rest of them. Looking out at the sea of confused, contemplative children before her... some part of her knew she was going to hell for taking away so much innocence in one sitting. Really, the wonders half an hour and the right conversation topic could do to such a diverse group of people. Hana was amazed, even towards herself. This really was setting a new low for her.

Fu shook his head, clearing his thoughts. "Adults are even worse than I thought they are. To think, that's how we were all born. Our parents-"

"Can you not? go there? right this second?" Tenma said, his voice cracking. His face was pale and slightly green, and he stared down at his feet with his head in his hands. "I don't need to think of my parents like that for the rest of my life. Just kill me instead."

"You're the one who wanted to know," Fu huffed.

Tenma shuddered, his eyes still fixed to his shoes. "I think I want to un-know now."

Hana swallowed the guilty knot growing in the throat. "Heeeey, it's not that bad, you would have all found out eventually from your parents anyway." She froze. "Actually, I should've left this for your parents to explain. I'm a _terrible_ human being."

"I mean, you _were_ under threat of violence, Hana-san," Haruto supplied weakly, earning a steady glare from Tenma.

"Hey! yeah! you're right!" Hana fight-pumped the air. "I'm not such a bad person after all! Plus, I only really scratched the surface of the matter. It's such a shame we aren't taught Sex Ed in the academy... STI's are still a thing in this world, after all."

"Thanks for the reminder." Fu wrinkled his nose, casting his untouched dinner to the side. "But since when are Inuzuka taught about sexually transmitted diseases?"

"Infections," Hana corrected. "But I dunno. It's kind of like how dogs get fleas at times. If people know how to avoid easily preventable diseases, it's better to educate them first and let them worry about being grossed out after, then have them run around not knowing. Being ignorant about serious stuff like this can not only ruin your own life, but other people as well."

Fu gave her a steady look. "It still baffles me how a seven year old can know so much despite everything. You sound like Nomura-sensei."

"No way, nomura-sensei isn't that cool," Someone argued, making the tips of Hana's ears go red.

"Cool? ha," Hana awkwardly swung her hair over her shoulder, to ill effect. Honestly, all she did was tell kids how babies were made. If anything, they should be screaming for the kills right about now. "Not me. I'm not cool."

"Yeah you are!" Another kid said, clasping their hands together. "You know so much about adult stuff- what else do you know, Hana-sensei?"

"Sensei?" Fu said, frowning. "Aren't you getting a little bit ahead of yourselves?"

"Teach us more Hana-sensei!"

"I want to know what the adults are talking about!"

"What do my parents mean when they talk about taxes?"

Hana rubbed the back of her head, catching, but not really able to do anything about Fu's deepening scowl sent her way. Maybe she was in over her head more than she first thought.

Man, she was so shitty at pretending to be a kid again.

X

The following days, everyone stayed close to camp and made sure to go with a buddy whenever they wandered into the forest. Team Fu managed their best, and despite the fact that they had little idea what they were doing they still managed to scrounge together enough food from the nearby creek for at least two days before the crayfish and local flora were depleted, and they had to go out hunting again.

Being an Inuzuka, Hana was one of the first people her classmates looked to.

"I don't like it."

Fu was adamant on everyone staying close to camp in case they had another close encounter with a bear, crossing his arms over his chest and refusing to let them leave.

Hana sighed, the weight of her new makeshift bow heavy in her hands. Itachi, next to her, with a similar bamboo bow, frowned. "Don't you think you're overreacting a bit?

"Am I overreacting a little bit when you two have _already_ had a close call with-" Fu pinched the bridge of his nose and didn't say anything for a few moments. He took a deep breath through his nose. "Look, I know you two are 'capable _'_ , and mark high in this class or whatever, but you can't just go into the forest when we know it's dangerous. What if something happens?"

Hana put a hand on his shoulder. "We'll be fiiiiine. I know how to tree walk now, if we get chased or something, me and Itachi can just run up the nearest tree and wait it out."

"And you're sure you won't _fall?_ "

"Ha, when would I... ever..." Hana could feel Itachi's eyes on her back, weighing down on her. "When would I ever be that clumsy? Psh, you worry too much. "

Fu looked at the both of them, sizing them up. "Did something happen that you two aren't telling me?" He narrowed his eyes.

"Uh." the weight on Hana's shoulders increased, and she cursed, knowing full well that Itachi was the one who wanted to tell the others about the ANBU that they had run into, and it had been her who had avoided the subject. She could tell Fu now, but... there were other people around. Did she really want to chance scaring everyone? Especially when apparently they looked up to her...

Hana suddenly got the vivid image of 13 screaming, crying children latching onto her in panic, and just. No. Hell no.

Fu shook his head and closed his eyes. "Maybe you're right, I might be worrying too much." he nodded at both Itachi and her, jerking his head towards the forest. "Dont stray too far from camp, regardless, okay? I don't like seeing people I... care about... getting hurt." He made a sour face at the words, breaking off eye contact with them both.

And- great. Hana didn't even need ITachi's unnecessary guilt-stare to feel awful this time. What did Izumi say before? That he just didn't care? Either Izumi totally had Fu wrong, or he was a better actor than Hana gave him credit for. Or… maybe he was growing up a little bit. The thought made Hana feel a little proud of him. She wanted to pinch his face. _What a nerd._

Hana grinned to try and ease his worry, and said: "I'll give you the full run-down of everything that happened when we get back, okay? Promise."

"Good," Fu said, pacified.

"Good," Itachi said as well, giving Hana the side-eye.

"Great," Hana sighed, adjusting her hold on her bow and backpack. "We should be back in a couple hours, and I'm taking the Haimaru brothers with us just in case. If you need to say anything else, say it quick, daylight's burning."

Fu gave them both a closed-eyed smile. "Right, about that. Tenma's coming with you."

"Say what?"

X

"I hate the forest."

"Yeah, we know, you've said as much like four times already," Hana muttered, ducking under another ill-timed branch that would've hit her square in the face, thanks to the older boy in front of her.

"People weren't meant to live in the woods you know. Why Nomura-sensei told us not to use Jutsu is beyond me." Tenma said, continuing his wild crashing through the surrounding foliage.

Hana didn't exactly know why she even brought haimaru brothers along to make a path for them if Tenma just went ahead and knocked everything in a 3 mile radius down with his flailing limbs.

"I mean, she could've just taught us some cool techniques and graduate us already. I'd be less afraid of running into a bear if I knew I could defend myself and not get penalized for it." He huffed.

Idly, Hana wondered if Nomura-sensei had noted hana's botched body-replacement a couple days ago. She wondered if saving her life would cost the class a letter grade.

Knowing their by-the-book teacher….

Ehhhh. She'd worry about it later.

"Shh," Itachi said, halting them with a raised hand. He held his little makeshift bow in the other, crouched down low enough so that he blended in with the foliage. "I think I saw something."

Hana gave a low whistle for her ninken to come back, and, after a brief confirmation, motioned for the two boys to creep forward. "We've hit a deer trail. Sekimaru said it's fresh."

Tenma wrinkled his nose. "And how would he tell you that? The dog can't speak anyway-"

"Inuzuka have a special connection with their ninken," Itachi quietly supplied, carefully stepping through the thick underbrush.

"You wouldn't understand," Hana muttered, signaling for Kemuri and Misuto to stay close, while their middle brother (and by far, the largest of them) stuck to the trail and lead them forward, into a more open grassland, with several toppled trees and upturned patches of earth, that said...

Something had definitely happened here.

She could smell it in the air. Nearly taste it on her tongue.

Hana and Itachi traded a look as they stood on the edge of the clearing, still partially hidden by the cover of the trees.

Tenma, on the other hand, kept walking. "What do you think happened here? It couldn't have been-"

"Wait!"

 _Chomp-!_ a pair of little puppy jaws latched onto Tenma's pant-leg to keep him from taking another step.

Tenma swore. "What the-?"

Hana and Itachi were at his side in an instant, careful to avoid the spike trap Tenma had almost walked into.

"We can't let out guard down here," Itachi murmured, kneeling down to observe the wire-release for said trap. The line was about a foot away from where Tenma had once been, the only giveaway: a tiny silver pin embedded into the dirt. The only reason why Tenma hadn't seen it was because it wasn't visible at such a short distance.

"Oh my god," Tenma said, his voice cracking. "Who- what the hell... why would that just be lying around like that?"

"I don't know," Hana murmured, motioning for Itachi to stay far enough away from the trap, should it go off by itself. "I don't think we should stick around long enough to find out though."

"Agreed," Itachi said, swinging his bow back onto his shoulders, right before-

One of the Haimaru brothers _yelped_ off in the distance, and the hair on the back of Hana's neck stood on end.

" _Wait-!_ "

Feeding chakra through her legs, Hana traversed the field in less than a minute, seeking out the scent of her precious ninken, and coming across a grisly scene laid out before her.

"Oh my god," Hana said, covering her nose with her hand. She picked up the stray Haimaru bother by his collar and tucked him under her arm before he could run off again.

"What happened? what's wrong?"

She could hear the sounds of Itachi and Tenma making their way across the field in a much slower, careful process then she did, which gave her all the more time to panic and try to come up with some excuse to tell them not to come any closer.

Because what she was staring it- well, most of it she couldn't identify, but most of it...

Deer. dozens of dead, mutilated deer, caught on old traps, and bleeding everywhere and-

Hana closed her eyes and tried not to be sick. Because if she did- not only would that make things a million times worse, but it would also add to the bloody, gross scent in the air, and-

"Oh my god what the fuck-"

And oh, okay, Tenma was doign the puking thing now so she didn't have to worry about adding to the horrible disgusting scents around her. sarcastically, she was grateful, actually, and made a mental note to add Tenma to the list of kids whose vocabularies had been expanded, thanks to her own dirty mouth.

Actually, upon the topic of mouths-

Tenma retched again, and she she could almost feel the action be mirrored by her diaphram, if her tongue and throat didn't feel like sandpaper at the moment.

"What... what happened here?" Itachi said numbly, weakly patting the older boy's back as he emptied the contents of his stomach onto a pile of grass.

"It's been..." Hana didn't have to, but she sniffed the air for confirmation, regretting the action immensely. "A couple days since... I guess... this herd got caught. Judging from the flies..."

"They've been sitting here this whole time?" Itachi paled, flinching when Tenma retched a couple more times.

"Look," Hana said, taking a cautious step forward towards what used to be a doe, lying languid and lifeless on the ground. A collection of shuriken embedded in her neck suggested she sprung some sort of long-distance trap and didn't know what hit her. "It looks like something's been coming here for a snack."

Sure enough, bite marks from scavengers indicated that several caught deer had not gone unwasted, but...

"Is that why the bear didn't go after us when it had us cornered in a tree?" Itachi said quietly, avoiding looking at the carnage in front of him, instead, looking at the grass in front of his sandals.

"There's just... so many of them..." Hana murmured, taking in the, what, nine, ten bodies? Some of them strung up, some of them lying around, but otherwise, it was just... a useless, wasteful mess. Someone had left their traps lying around- and for what? for enemy nin to run into? did they not care about anything else running into it? what if her class had walked through this clearing? what if-

No, she didnt want to think about it. She needed to guide the three of them out of this maze of traps without any of them getting hurt.

"Can each of you carry a /haimaru brother for me? I can't risk them walking through here and getting caught."

Tenma wiped his sleeve over his mouth, looking worse for wear. "What about us? what if whoever set those comes back?"

"They won't," Hana said, making sure the bow slung across her back wouldn't move as she carefully slid the ninken in her arms into her bag. It was meant for game- or squirrels, if she caught any, but was sturdy enough to carry a puppy. "We need to get out of here- Fu was right, we shouldn't have gone so far from camp, I seriously regret-"

 _Twang-!_

The three of them instinctively ducked at the sound of some trap going off in the distance, paling when they heard the sound of metal hitting flesh some twenty yard away. Itachi looked like it was his turn to be sick when some inhuman cry filled the area.

Hana already had her bow in her hands, and she crept cautiously closer to the sound of thrashing and animal screeches.

"H-hold on!" Tenma quickly scampered after her, dragging a ill-looking Uchiha by his wrist behind him.

Hana rounded a pile of dirt and came across another wire trap (the same kind Tenma almost walked on) with a racoon badly stuck on the end of a nasty makeshift spike, whining and gnawing at the pole it was fixed to with a futile desperation. Hana's chest tightened.

This... this was so negligent. so thoughtless. What kind of person- no, shinobi... left their traps around like this? Didn't they care about anyone innocent running into them?

Racoons were scavengers, the one before her had probably been lured in by the smell of meat in the air.. It was a deathtrap- the only reason why the three of them hadn't ended up like the other dead animals in the area was because they shared the same mind of the animal that set up the traps in the first place.

Animals killed for survival and food, this… this was just pointless. Humans were the worst kind of killers; a dozen lives had been cut short for no reason whatsoever.

Hana looked at the two boys, flaring her chakra just a tad to draw their eyes away from the suffering creature in front of them. "Tenma, can you get Itachi to hand me our quiver? I need an arrow."

Tenma blinked, his eyes glassy and somewhat distant. "What? I... yeah, okay."

The Haiamru brother in his arms liked his chin and seemed to keep him grounded somewhat, and he plucked an arrow from Itachi's bag. The Uchiha remained unresponsive, staring down at the ground in front of his feet.

Hana kept her face impassive as she received the arrow. Tenma and Itachi were too young to deal with death on this kind of level- God, seven and twelve. The first time Hana had experienced a death, she had been young, but to see it, close-up, like this? Hana needed to get them back to camp, fast. Both boys probably needed counselling after this, shit.

But first...

"What are you doing?"

Itachi speaking actually startled her, and she lessened the grip on her bowstring. She looked back at him, taking in his pale skin and glassy eyes- Kemuri in his arms didn't seem to make him feel any better. Rather, it made him look even more like a child, carrying a giant stuffed toy after a nightmare.

Hana grit her teeth and flashed him an uneasy smile (at least, it felt like one) to try and distract him. "Can you two, uh, turn around for a second? I need to do something."

His eyes jumped from the arrow in her hands, to the suffering animal in front of them, and something in his mind clicked. He took a deep breath, and lowered his gaze again.

Tenma took a second longer to understand, before his eyes went wide and he gasped. "What? y-you're going to kill it? Why? Why can't we just set it free?"

Hana took a deep breath and, with the tone of an adult explaining something to a very small, scared child (because christ, they were scared. She could see it in the tremor of Tenma's shoulders) patiently explained: "Setting it free now would only make it suffer longer. There's no way I can get close to that trap without knowing for certain I won't get hurt trying to disarm it. And If the racoon lashes out, if it bites me, there's no telling i couldn't get sick as a result. This is all i can do to spare it any more pain."

"Raccoons carry a lot of germs," Itachi said quietly, looking off to the side. His arms around Kemuri tightened, and the puppy laid its head on his shoulder to try and comfort him. "Don't let it suffer too long..."

Tenma shot the Uchiha a wide-eyed look, before locking eyes with Hana once again. He swallowed heavy, and his eyes welled up before he started blinking rapidly. "I-I don't like this. Who left these traps here? why?"

"Whoever did either forgot about them, or felt cornered enough so that they felt this kind of lethal force was necessary," Hana murmured, her grip tight on her bow. "Can you two turn around now? I don't want you to see this."

She could hear the sound of one of the boys doing what she asked, but as she looked over her shoulder, she saw that Tenma hadn't moved.

"It'll be quick, I promise."

Numbly, the boy nodded and turned around, holding the puppy in his arms close.

Hana knocked an arrow, and it struck-

The sounds of struggling faded, and there was silence.

Hana let her shoulders fall, letting out the tension in her chest. Misuto wiggled in her backpack, pulling himself far enough on her shoulder to lick her cheek. She gave an empty, half hearted smile, and scratched behind his ears, turning around to face the other two boys now that her job was done and they could leave.

(she didn't look at the body again)

(she really couldn't)

Tenma had his eyes fixed on her.

"What are you?" he asked, as if the girl in front of him were some otherworldly creature.

Hana forced down the shiver of panic that flared up because of his choice in phrasing. "Sorry?"

"How can you just..." His eyes flicked back to the dead racoon behind her. "Why aren't you crying? you just _killed_ something."

 _You're supposed to be just a little girl._

 _Why aren't you acting like one?_

"I..." Hana repressed another shudder at the accusatory tone in his voice. "I've gone hunting with my mom before. It's fine- We should get out of here actually. Itachi? will you retrace the path you and tenma took for me please?"

Itachi quietly nodded and motioned for Tenma to follow after him.

The older boy complied, and, after a couple minutes of climbing, crawling and tiptoeing, they made it to the edge of the forest without a word being spoken between any of them.

Once they got under the cover of the trees, Itachi, finally, had a little more colour in his face. The three of them took a moment to sigh a breath of relief now knowing they were out of harm's immediate way, before Tenma started looking at her again.

"What kind of mom takes their kid hunting when they're so young? I've met your mom before but she doesn't look like crazy hunting type. What did you kill before? Was it really that easy?"

Hana tucked a strand of brown hair behind her ear, before brushing past Tenma to get back on the trail to camp. "Ha, what are we playing, twenty questions?"

Tenma was practically on her heels, following after her. "Then how are you so okay right now? you just- you just killed, a-"

"I know, tenma."

His eyes were glassy again. "I don't understand! Stop, listen to me, how are you-"

"Look-" Hana halted and didn't fight Tenma's grip on her wrist. He was confused, he was scared. She got that. She just wanted to get him and Itachi back to camp where she could know for certain that they were safe. "Me getting upset isn't going to get us back to camp. Whover set up those traps could still be around- I swear, once we get there, I'll answer any questions you may have."

Tenma hesitated. "Do you promise?"

"Yes," Hana said, looking up at the older boy. "I promise. And i'm sorry i scared you."

 _I'm sorry I'm not reacting the way you want. I'm making this up as I go along._

The gap between the child she was supposed to be, and the adult she really was, felt like a vast canyon.

"Let's get Itachi back to camp, okay?"

"Okay."

 **X**

 **End of Chapter 18~**

AN: I would've kept going if it weren't for the fact that theaceoflemonades saw the word count for this chapter and threatened to kick my ass. Not… that i don't deserve it, but she goes over it all in one sitting, and yeah. Hoo. 20K words man. It kills me to make this ark a three parter, when at first I just wanted this to be a tiny mini ark before what comes next. And I've been waiting months to write that ark, so… yeah, anyway :P

Tell me what you thought of this chapter in the comments! Chatty Anbu? The talk? Hana failing to blend into the crowd? Or maybe the tiny spot with fu caught your attention… Anyway, thanks for reading! I'll catch you next chapter with more ~super fun camping stuff~ soon!


	19. Chapter 19 - Out Of The Woods

**AN:** Thank god this ark is over after this. Thank. God.

 **Words:** 10,484 (:DD broke 100K! hooray!)

 **Words Deleted:** 5,074

 **X**

 **Chapter 19 - Out Of The Woods**

 **X**

"Should I ask about the bloodstains on your sandals or should I just... keep washing these dishes...?" Izumi said weakly, shooting Hana a slightly scared look as she sat down at the side of the creek and peeled off her shoes, before throwing them into the water.

"Ask, don't ask, I'll tell you after everyone stops eating." Hana muttered, sticking her feet into the creek to wash off any extra mud or gore that might have gotten onto her exposed toes.

Really, ninja sandals, so impractical. What kind of idiot wore sandals for all terrain? Stupid ninja chakra bullshit couldn't explain away the fact that having your toes exposed had no beneficial reason whatsoever. And the smell-! God, if blood and guts got between her toes every time there was a horde of dead bodies in front of her, Hana would get a pair of boots. Or maybe running shoes. _Fuck ninja tradition._

Hana started scrubbing the blood out of her sandals with a vicious determination, ignoring the looks Izumi was sending her. A few beats of silence, and the older girl went back to washing her pots and pans in silence.

Hana kind of… missed having the Haimaru brothers by her side absentmindedly. She knew they weren't that far off, since she could sense them, but… she could've used the added comfort. Whatever- she asked the three of them to keep an eye on Tenma and Itachi after they got back to camp, and puppies were probably the best therapy she could offer after mercy-killing a raccoon in front of them, but….

She still felt shitty. Maybe it had something to do with the fact that she had more blood on her hands now. She hadn't ever killed something that _big_ before.

Fish, maybe. Her old family used to have a beach house they would go to every year in the summer, and she and her sister would drag their dad out to set up crab traps for supper. They usually didn't catch anything…big. Crabs were easy to shell, and it didn't take much to kill one. Hana couldn't remember if she felt bad after shelling her first dungeness crab, but this time… This time was different.

She remembered reading books and wiki facts about the brains of certain animals, how fish and crustaceans couldn't feel pain like other creatures. Not like humans, or mammals. Not like that raccoon caught in a spike trap.

A part of her wanted to go back to that clearing and give the poor creature a burial like it deserved. But she knew she she was risking more than another slap on the wrist from Fu is she went alone. And… she didn't know if the person who left the traps was still around. Or even friendly.

Hana sighed and thrust her feet deeper into the creek, burying her toes into the loose rocks at the bottom.

The hunting trip had been a fruitless journey and an empty one. If she had brought back some game, she might've felt better, but wasn't the whole point of leaving camp just another reason for her to kill something? Did she have any faith that Tenma or Itachi could kill another creature? or was she infantilizing them too much? God, they were just kids. Babies, practically. What kind of sick, son of a bitch decided kids like them were old enough to be shinobi?

 _Honestly, fuck the ninja system right in the ass._

When they returned, they were met by good news that some of the other kids had travelled a little farther up the creekside and found another pool of small crayfish and minnows for their group to feed off of, so at least their group wouldn't starve for the night. Tenma muttered something under his breath before dumping his empty backpack at hana's feet and heading off to their shelter to cool off or something. Itachi had done something similar, but he, however, sat down by the campfire and simply closed his eyes, looking far too tired then any seven year old should.

One of the first reasons she sought out Itachi in the first place was because he acted older than his age. But now… Hana wondered if how much of her first impression had been based off of her desire- no, _need_ , to find someone like her. She just… she didn't fit. Itachi was smart, but she hated the tired look in his eyes as they went back to camp. He deserved to stay a kid as long as possible.

She knew she was alone, figuring everything out on her own. Maybe things would be easier when she grew up. She hoped so.

Damnit. Why had Nomura-sensei decided to leave Hana alone in the forest with a bunch of children? She honestly didn't have the energy to do any more babysitting.

Hana sighed and stopped her scrubbing. Izumi perked up, noting the lessening of killing-intent in the air. Whoops, Had she been sulking that badly? She needed to keep a better hold on her chakra.

"Sorry, 'zumi," Hana muttered, sitting back on the edge of the creek. "I'm just... really stressed out. I didn't mean to scare you or anything."

"I wasn't scared," Izumi told her, setting her pan aside to face her. "I'm just worried- are you okay? this is the second time I've caught you brooding on this trip."

"Hah, well," Hana shook her head, letting her feet sit on the surface of the water. "Between bears, teaching myself how to tree walk, and freaking out Tenma and Itachi, I've got my plate full. Thanks for worrying, I guess."

"This camping trip has really taken a turn for the worse, huh," Izumi muttered, scooting closer to her and dunking her feet in the water a moment later. "Maybe when we get back home you, me, and Shinko could have a sleepover or something. My mom could help us make cookies and we can actually have fun and talk about stuff."

Hana looked down, pursing her lips. As thrilling as it sounded, hanging out with a twelve year old and a nine year old Izumi… Didn't sound like the greatest thing in the world. Like more babysitting to be honest. Izumi could count her years on her fingers, while Hana could remember decades back to another life, another time, where sleepovers and girl-talk were far beneath her, but... she was still kinda... touched by the gesture? It was really, really nice actually. A chance to hang out with two girls and just be friends? No pressure, nothing heavy weighing her down…

 _Did she... really deserve that kind of kindness?_

 _Izumi was supposed to die during the Uchiha massacre, and she hadn't done anything to stop it yet._

Hana swallowed heavily, and got up. "Hey, check it out."

Hana grasped the other girl's wrist gently, and pushed off the side of the creek so that both feet stood on the surface of the water, chakra forcing the water to stay firm and steady under her weight.

"Whoa- look at you! " Izumi cheered, keeping a steady grip onto Hana's hand as she got onto her feet. "That's so cool- I haven't even gotten to tree walking yet and you're already this far! I'm really impressed Hana-chan!"

"Than you try it," Hana said, gently tugging her friend closer to the water's edge. "I'll show you."

The Uchiha faltered. "I-I don't know about that... I couldn't even get the fire started without Itachi having to step in... I could get wet..."

"Come ooooon," Hana whined. "It's like, knee deep here. It's not that bad."

"I don't know..."

"Hey, what are you guys doing?" Shinko asked, making her way over to them with another pile of dishes in her hands. She set them to the side though, when she spotted Hana walking on the water's surface. "Whoa, wait, is Hana doing what I think she's doing?"

Hana waved the sauna girl over. "Help convince Izumi to give water-walking a try! come on, I need an extra push-"

Izumi's face went blank. "Do not say _push_ while I'm standing next to-"

"Whoops!" Shinko not-so convincingly tripped, pushing her friend off the side of the creek and into Hana's arms.

"Shit-" Hana flailed, catching the Uchiha last second under her arms. Her feet sank halfway into the water, and Izumi was already partially in the water.

"Damnit Shinko, she didn't mean-"

" _Focus_." Hana fed more chakra into the bottom of her feet, steadying herself, before she started trying to pull Izumi up out of the creek through sheer strength alone. "Now's the best time to learn how to water walk 'zumi, you know how to move chakra into your hands- move it into your feet so I don't have to drop you." She grimaced. "Because I will- don't forget the fact that my arms are basically noodles at this point."

Izumi took in a sharp breath. " _Please_ don't drop me, I'll..." She kicked at the water's surface for a second, and Hana could sense that she was struggling to gather her chakra. "I'll figure it out."

"I'll just sit here and watch," said Shinko, a smug little smile on her face.

"Thanks for the help," Hana said, rolling her eyes as she struggled with the weight.

"No problem," Shinko chirped, crossing her legs in front of her as she watched Izumi fail to grasp water walking while Hana's grip on the girl lessened. "You know, back in Suna, we never had enough water to learn to walk on. Usually, academy students learn how to scale rock walls and on shifting sands. Moving sure has been a change in perspective."

"Oh yeah?" Hana grunted, trying to keep Izumi from sinking even father. "Tell us about it?"

"Hmm, well, let me see," Sinko said as Izumi struggled more, hissing as her bare skin met freezing water. "There's few trees to walk up of in wind country, but they're not as tall or wide as the ones here in Konoha. I only went to school there for a year and a half before my family moved- I was six at the time, and mom lived in Konoha while dad and I lived in Suna. It was nice, but I didn't get to learn a lot of the cool tricks shinobi there figured out-"

"How do you like Konoha?" Hana asked, wincing as Izumi's fingernails bit into her arm.

"It's okay. I was a little freaked out when people stared at me and didn't trust me when I first started school, but everyone here is pretty nice now." she shot Hana a smile. "We sat together when we both took our entrance tests to the academy, do you remember that? I really appreciated the fact that you didn't seem put off by me or the fact that I come from another country."

Hana winced again, but not by Izumi. More from, well, remembering how she reacted to Shinko dealing with kids being racist towards her. Hana just… brushed it off and let her sit next to her without really doing something. She could've fought someone or told a teacher, but… she didn't.

What kind of person did Shinko and Izumi take her for? She really didn't deserve their praise.

Hana grimaced. "I probably don't deserve that-"

"Aha! look!" Izumi released her manic grip on hana's arms and pushed away from her, wobbly slightly, but nonetheless standing on the surface of the water. "I finally did something! This is awesome!"

"Good job Izumi-chan!" Shinko grinned, as she, too, pushed off the side of the creek to stand next to them.

Izumi gawked at her. "What- you just said you never got to learn how to water walk in Sauna!"

"Never said I didn't figure it out here," Shinko said, grinning wider, as she took in the three of them. "You know, I bet it's a million times easier to catch fish standing on the surface like this." Shinko shook her head and looked down at the water. "Too bad Eji and Umino-san take a hundred years to learn stuff like this. Have you seen their test scores? I feel bad when I cheat for them."

Hana snorted, self-loathing momentarily forgotten. "You too? and here I thought I was the only one handing out answers."

Izumi rolled her eyes. "Man, how lazy are some of the boys in our class..?"

Shinko snickered. "Hey- it's more like I feel bad for them! It's not Eji's fault, I think he needs glasses or something. He has trouble reading."

"I should probably stop giving Fu homework over the weekend," Hana muttered, the water from the creek cool and flowing between her toes. "Nomura-sensei is definitely starting to take notice since I dot all my I's with little hearts."

Izumi snorted. "You do? that's so girly _Hana-chan,_ I wouldn't have thought you did that sort of thing."

Hana winked. "Only for the homework with Fu's name on it."

The three of them snickered.

"Hey, have you guys tried skating on the water yet?" Hana asked, leading the girls farther onto the water surface. Her eyes shone. "I bet it's super fuuuun~"

"What's skating?" Shinko asked, her smile stretching as she half dragged, half carried Izumi farther away from the shore. "Will it let me splash Izumi-chan more?"

"Guys, please," Izumi whined, looking like she wanted to dig her heels into the surface of the water to slow down. "I don't deserve this."

"We'll be the judge of that!" Hana grinned, eyes light and twinkling.

It was a nice moment for the three of them.

(She was really glad she had Izumi and Shinko as friends. Even if she didn't quite think she deserved it.)

X

"Oaky so," Hana folded her hands on her lap, the light from the fire casting a harsh glare over

her face that her features mirrored. "You wonder why I've gather you here today, hmm?"

"Uh, yeah," Fu muttered, rubbing the sleep out of his eyes after, unfortunately, choosing to fall asleep before being dragged out to the fire with the rest of the core of the group. He slapped one side of his face, before perking up a bit. "Oh- right, you said this morning you'd finally admit that something else happened out in the woods when you came across that bear. What was it?"

"You came across _something else_?" Tenma hissed, wrapped in a blanket and close to the heat of the fire himself. Beside him, Itachi nodded for her to start talking.

Hana pinched the bridge of her nose, since, okay, she was on her own now. She didn't want to force Itachi to speak since he had been mostly quiet all day after the unfortunate hunting accident, and she didn't want to push him. Which meant she'd be the one doing all the talking. Cool.

"The story you've been told is mostly true- me and Itachi ran into a bear, Itachi was able to climb up it with me following him, but at one point, I lost my footing and fell-"

"What?" said Fu, gaping at her. "What do you mean you _fell_?"

"I think she means... she fell, Fu-san," Haruto said to his left, in his pajamas, with a little quilt wrapped around his shoulders.

Fu looked at him. "I-I mean, I know, but I _warned_ her-"

"After the fact," Itachi murmured, keeping his gaze low and close to the ground. The Haimaru brother in his lap nudged his hand for him to give him another pat. "Hana-san fell before you got upset with her and stormed off. That might be why she took your words to heart and taught herself how to tree walk so quickly. Am I right?" He asked, finally making eye contact with her.

"Uh, yes," Hana quickly nodded, glad to have him speaking at least. Maybe she wasn't on her own after all? "Anyway, I fell, the bear left, Itachi tried to grab me at some point, but I was caught by someone else instead. An Anbu."

"Anbu?" Izumi said out loud, huddled under a shared blanket with Shinko. "What do you mean?"

"What's Anbu doing here...?" Fu murmured to himself, a slight frown on his face. He looked back up at Hana. "Were you able to identify them?"

Hana scratched the back of her head. "Well, I mean, I tried-"

"Anbu Hound and Jackal," Itachi murmured. "The name implies that both masked units may be trackers."

"Because a Jackal is a type of dog...?" Izumi asked. She shook her head. "What are two trackers doing in a place like this?"

"Hunting something maybe," Haruto said, staring down at his clasped hands.

"Or _someone_ ," Fu said, narrowing his eyes. He sent a sharp look at Hana. "And you didn't think to maybe tell us when it happened a couple days ago? _Hana_ -"

Shinko put up a hand to stop him from going off on the Inuzuka. "Come on, she might have a reason she didn't say anything."

"We-" Hana glanced at Itachi, resting his chin on the top of Kemuri's head. Man, he looked too tired to take the fall for this. She didn't want to tire him out more. "Uh, _I_ was worried it might freak out the rest of the camp if you all knew something was going on behind the scenes. I didn't want to panic anyone."

"Yeah, and what great that did," Tenma said grudgingly, clenching his fists by his sides. "Go on- tell them about the traps we found. About the dozens of dead deer we found-"

Haruto looked at him. "Deer?"

"Are you serious?" Fu said, something flashing in his eyes. "You found traps in the first and didn't tell me, again? Come on! I'm the _team leader_ , I'm supposed to know this sort of stuff!"

"Well, between Tenma accusing me, and Itachi shutting down I kind of hand my hands full," Hana said shakily, tense and anxious as everyone watched her "Maybe I'm a magnet for trouble, but at least nobody got hurt. I thought maybe if I got you all here together and told you all at once I wouldn't have to deal with everyone blowing up at me one at a time- sorry for not wanting to worry everyone. "

Shinko gave her a concerned look. "We _do_ worry Hana, we-"

"I know, I just feel like you all think I can't handle any of this, when really-"

"She doesn't need us worrying about her," Tenma said, cutting through everyone's chatter. The group stilled, and stared at him. He kept his eyes fixed on her though, and didn't flinch at their stares. "She doesn't. She didn't even look phased when we saw the deer. Just uncomfortable. She spoke like she knew exactly what she was doing, too. Like she'd seen it before."

"Dude, how can you say that?" Izumi hissed, swatting him in the arm. "Of course she was phased-"

"No, he's right," Hana muttered, stopping the girl short. "Tenma was sick and Itachi's still... dealing with it, obviously, but I'm not a mess. I just... I didn't think it would help at all." She shook her head and sighed. Adults dealt with disturbing stuff differently than kids. It was a pretty big giveaway. "If I freaked you both out, I'm sorry. That wasn't what I wanted to happen, I... I don't know. I can't explain, I'm sorry."

Damnit- if only she was a better actor. Maybe if she knew how to cry, Tenma wouldn't feel so threatened by her.

Haruto shifted in his seat slightly. "What... you three saw... was it really that bad?"

"Yes," Hana said, with both Tenma's tightening fists and Itachi's dull nod mirroring her.

"Someone- I don't know who, left a bunch of lethal traps in a clearing... And I guess they forgot about them or something, because they were all set off by a herd of deer, and... well, the deer didn't make it out. We found them after they had been there for a couple days. The smell was... really intense..."

"God..." Izumi said, wrinkling her nose. "And that's why you're shoes were, uh, the way they were?"

"I think I need to get a pair of boots when we get home," Hana murmured, resting her head on her hand. "Cloth sandals really soak up... a lot of gross stuff."

"I bet," Izumi sighed, rubbing one of her temples. "Do you think those Anbu were the ones who set the traps?"

"I doubt it," Fu said quietly, jaw clenched. "You said the traps were set off a couple days ago- Either someone was training out here in the woods and just forgot about them, or this whole place is booby trapped and there's someone trying to hide out here in the forest thinking they won't be discovered."

"Do you really think so?" Shinko worriedly asked.

Hana crossed her arms in front of her, letting the air out of her lungs with one, long breath. "If that's the case, we shouldn't let our guard down. We should assign someone to stay up in case something happens while we're all sleeping."

"We could take shifts," Haruto said, looking around at all of them. "And draw straws to see who goes first."

"I'll do it," Tenma said, pulling his blanket tighter around his shoulders. "I won't be getting any sleep anyways after what I've seen today."

"I would like to stay up as well," Itachi said quietly.

Izumi leaned closer to Shinko, wrapping her hands around the girl's arm. "I'm not sleeping either- what if some creep ends up attacking our camp? I don't want to be asleep for that."

Fu sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. "Fine, okay, everyone's staying up. But if everyone stays up nobody will have enough energy to take a shift when it gets really, really early, so someone's going to have sleep at some point."

Hana put up her hand. "Sleeping sounds nice to me."

"Nuh-uh, no way," Shinko said, quickly breaking away from Izumi to grasp Hana's hand with hers. "I'd feel a million times more safe if you stayed up with s Hana-chan. You don't scare as easily as the rest of us!"

"Ain't that the truth," Tenma muttered, before Izumi smacked him. "Ow! don't be mean!"

"Then take your own advice," The Uchiha said, before sticking her tongue out at him.

"Okay, well, if you want me to stay up I will," Hana said, sitting back down on her stump. Shinko nodded and went back to sitting with Izumi, pulling the girl back before she got into an argument with Tenma again. "So... Is everyone here staying up? what do you guys want to do all night?"

"I don't know about everyone else, but I... would like some rest..." Haruto said evenly, getting up from his chair. He turned towards the ginger Yamanaka sitting next to him, and took the quilt off his shoulders to drape around him. "I can take morning shift if everyone gets tired, okay?"

"Yeah… Thanks." Fu said, pulling the blanket closer. He looked back up at him. "I'll wake you up at... how about four?"

Haruto seemed to repress a shudder, but nodded eventually. He tired to the rest of the group, and nodded his head at them. "Try not to make too much noise? I'm going to need the extra sleep, thanks."

Hana watched him pad over to their shelter, where the rest of the group slept, unaware of what was going around the campfire. She shook her head. "So, uh, what do you guys wanna do?"

They looked at each other.

Izumi raised her hand. "I have a couple ideas."

X

"Okay, I have one. Nomura-sensei, Takada-sensei, and the janitor that cleans up after hours, _go_."

Hana pursed her lips and looked at Shinko, silently weighing her odds. "I have to marry one of them, right? I'll take the janitor."

Shinko snickered. "But that means you have to _make out_ with-"

"Nooo! I don't wanna think about Hana kissing Takada-sensei!" Izumi shrieked, hiding her face in Shinko's shoulder.

Hana made an affronted scoff. "Who says I'm kissing the old man? Please, give me a little credit."

"So then you'd rather kiss Nomura-sensei." Fu interjected, tilting his head to the side in thought. "I mean, I could see it happening. In a couple decades, maybe."

Hana wrinkled her nose. "Oh come on- you can see me kissing Nomura-sensei and not me getting married the school janitor? we're only given three choices dude, would you rather me kiss old man Takada?"

Fu grimaced. "Point taken."

"Does this mean you would rather kill him?" Itachi asked to her left, soaking up the heat from the fire as Tenma put another log on. "Since that's the only other option."

"Ehhh, I guess?" Hana put a hand over her chest and closed her eyes. "Rest in peace sensei, death was on your door anyway."

Izumi swatter her arm. "That's so mean! It's not his fault he's old."

"Izumi I think it's exactly his fault he's old. He made it this long anyway," Fu said, shooting her a look.

Hana rolled her eyes. "Anyway, next round- Itachi, kiss kill marry: Uzumaki Kushina, my mum, and Senju _Tobirama_."

The group of kids groaned.

"Why is the second hokage _always_ one of the people you pick," Tenma whined, throwing himself back onto the ground next to Fu.

"She has a crush on one of our founding fathers," The Yamanaka said in response, pulling his blankets closer to himself. He shot a look at Hana, and said: "I hate to break it to you, but he's been dead for _fifty years_ now."

"I hate to break it to you, sulky mc sulkerton, but love conquers all," Hana said, batting her eyes him. "Besides, I'm not going to stop slipping him into my selections until someone chooses the makeout option. No more choosing the kill option, I can only come up with so many angry scenes for my story before it gets depressing."

Tenma shot Itachi a pleading look. "Please just take one for the team. I'm _begging_ you here."

"Sounds like a line from my _own_ fanfiction," Izumi murmured to herself.

Hana looked at her, a manic twinkle in her eye. "Izumi, I had no idea. This whole time you were an author? We should collab."

Tenma looked at them both. "What are you talking about?"

Izumi cleared her throat. "Erm- Nothing, carry on."

Shinko shot her friend a dirty look, and clicked her tongue.

Meanwhile, Fu and Itachi were deep in thought. "She won't stop picking him otherwise," Fu warned, on the edge of his seat as if he were deciphering some great equation. "Better to just get it over with."

Hana snickered and looked back to the boys, still struggling with Itachi's decision.

Tenma looked panicked. "Come on man, Just choose Tobirama. I'm sure he's an excellent kisser-"

"I don't care if he's a good kisser, the one I'm worried about is-" Itachi caught her watching the three of them, trying to stifle her laughter. He shook his head at her. "It's not funny Hana-san, why did you have to have your _mom_ as an option? Tsume-sama is a terrifying option for every single _one_."

"She would absolutely destroy you if you tried to kill her," Fu noted, nodding his head. "Though, marrying her seems like it might be just as stressful."

"Hey, my mom is a great wife, shut your mouth." Hana said, scooting up closer to Itachi. She nudged him in the side with her elbow. "Sooo? come to a decision yet? You could always pass, like a _weenie,_ but-"

Itachi closed his eyes in resignation. "I'll do it."

Fu, Tenma, Izumi and Shinko all sat forward in their seats, as Hana asked, "Do what?"

"Kiss Tobirama, Marry your mom, and kill... poor Kushina-sama..." Itachi murmured, his head in his hands.

"Oooooh!" Hana slapped him on the back, a manic grin on her face. "Someone finally did it! someone finally chose to kiss the kage! You admit it! my crush is _well founded_!"

Fu pat Itachi on the back. "I'm sure you could grow to live being Hana's _new dad,_ pfft _-!_ " he did a poor job of hiding his snickering.

Itachi slumped further in his seat. "What will I tell my mother..." he shook his head in shame. "First I kill her best friend, then I become a stepparent-"

"Dude," Said Tenma, shaking his head right with him. "Do you think corpses give good tongue? tell me when you find out."

"I think. I would rather die." Itachi paled. "I'm not ready to raise children with Tsume-sama yet- _I'm_ a child. What kind of sick, cruel, person-"

He stopped and stared at Hana, trying desperately to stop herself from crying as she held onto her sides as she cackled.

"Hana-san. Kiss, Kill, Marry."

Hana paused her laughter and wiped a tear from her eyes. "Oh, again? I mean okay, but-"

"Three Sannin."

"Oh." Hana swore under her breath. "Can't you ask someone else? I-"

Itachi shook his head. "This one's easy. No pressure, Hana-san, unless... you'd rather... pass like a _weenie_."

Hana almost looked taken aback at her own words being thrown at her, but narrowed her eyes at the challenge. "Okay, fine. Kiss Tsunade, no question about it."

"See, again, you choose the girls as your kiss option," Fu said, nodding at her. "If i didn't know any better, I'd question your-"

"Fu," Hana said, stopping him. she bent closer to him, so that the light from the fire blocked his face and hers was sheathed in an ominous shadow.

Fu leant back and swallowed, feeling a small amount of killing intent coming from her general direction. "Yes?"

"Game or no game. I would kiss the _hell_ out of the slug princess. Do not underestimate me, _boy_."

And then she sat back down in her seat and the killing intent disappeared. Fu let out a sigh of relief.

Itachi coughed into his hand. "Yes, well, I guessed as much. The real question is: would you marry the Toad sage, or the Snake Sannin?"

Hana's confidence crumbled. "I... shit..."

"You should've used the kiss option on Orochimaru," Izumi argued from across the fire. "I bet he can do a lot with that super long snake tongue of his- _mph_ -!"

"Sometimes maybe you should think before you speak" Said Shinko, covering the Uchiha's mouth with her hands.

"Super long... snake tongue..." Hana paled. "Can I choose death for myself instead? Orochimaru and Jiraiya can marry each other, it's cool, problem solved."

"Wait-" Tenma looked down at his hands, before looking up at them with a confused expression. "The snake Sannin is a _guy_?"

Fu scoffed. "Of course- did you think he was a girl this whole time?"

"I mean... I don't know..." Tenma looked off to the side, embarrassed.

Itachi nodded understandably. "They do have lovely hair."

"To be honest, male, female, regardless, " Fu confessed. "Orochimaru is terrifying and I wouldn't question it any further."

The three of them nodded in agreement to that, at least.

"Okay, I think... I think I got it." Hana had her face screwed up thinking of her final answer, but spoke anyway, even though she really really didn't want to go through with it. "Kiss Tsunade, _Kill_ Orochimaru, and... marry... the Toad sage..." She just about got sick on the last words.

"Orochimaru will absolutely destroy you before you get your chance to kiss the princess," Fu said, as if it were a matter of fact. Which... yeah, well, it pretty much was.

"I can understand why Hana-san would choose to spend the rest of her life with Jiraiya, he _is_ an accomplished author, after all," said Itachi.

"Yeah, but his books are..." Hana wrinkled her nose. "So raunchy."

Tenma raised an eyebrow at her. "What does that mean?"

"They're porn books," Fu said, screwing his face up as well. "Though, I don't see why Hana has a problem marrying the guy. Isn't that what your story with Tobirama the same?"

Hana gave an affronted gasp. "It is not! Hanako and Tobirama's love story is about two consenting adults finding themselves in each other. It's about _feelings,_ and friendship, and-"

"It's a raunchy love story about our super dead old leader," Fu said, deadpanning.

"How dare you. I'll have you know, I've put years of blood and sweat into creating that story-"

"So what's the big deal about shacking up with the Toad sage? He does the same thing for his books," said Fu.

Hana grit her teeth. "It's different! I wrote that story from my heart, and Jiraiya writes his story-"

"From _where_ , exactly?" Fu asked, a smug look on his face.

"From- from..." Hana faltered and looked at both Tenma and Itachi, who were listening in on their conversation with great attention. Hana turned a bright scarlet and looked at Fu. "I think you know exactly where, since you're so _familiar_ with his books." She raised both eyebrows at him. "Hmm? I didn't know you were into that sorta thing dude, what are you, twelve? pretty early to start life as a little _perv_ -"

"I am not!" It was Fu's turn to turn a bright pink at the accusation. "You think I have any idea what goes on in those books? My _grandmother_ reads them-"

"Oho, does she now? What, do you end up reading over her shoulder-?"

"No!" Fu put both hands over his ears. "I'm not listening to any more of this. Go kiss the slug princess and leave me out of it."

"Will do~" Said Hana, clapping her hands together in joy. "Okay, Shinko-chan, your turn! Kiss kill marry-"

"No, no more," the dirty blonde groaned, slumping forward in her seat. "We should go to sleep. It's already getting late-"

"What do you- what do you mean?" Hana said in between yawning . "I could keep going like this… for _hours_."

"Yeah right," Shinko said, rolling her eyes. "You're the one who's tired the most. Don't you feel even a little bit chakra exhausted yet? After tree climbing, running and keeping Izumi from sinking to the bottom of the creek-"

"You pushed me!"

Shinko waved a hand at her friend, silencing her. "You're still the youngest here. Isn't your body tired at all?"

Hana crossed her arms over her chest and avoided eye contact, shamed, because Izumi was right. she was a little empty on chakra after the past day. She didn't want to admit it out loud though. "Itachi's younger than I am, technically."

"And he's already falling asleep," Shinko pointed out, and, true enough, Itachi's eyes were already dropping as he struggled to stay awake. He shook himself though, as his name came up in conversation.

"Mmes? sorry- I was... I was..." Then his eyes fluttered closed, and he was out again.

"That's totally different. He's like, a little kid." Hana argued heatedly, through her eyes felt heavy just looking at the tiny Uchiha. "I've pulled all-nighters before, this is nothing, I-"

Fu took his quilt and draped it over her head, blocking out the light from the fire. "Sleep."

"It's not going to work, I'm not a goldfish or something... I..." Hana stifled a yawn. "I still wanna… talk more."

"Story of your life, I'm sure," Fu muttered, before she heard to sound of him and Tenma getting up. "Okay, you carry Hana to the shelter, and I'll carry Itachi."

Hana struggled to get the damn blanket off her. "Wait, what? carry me? no, I- oof-!"

Tenma's arms wrapped around her middle, trapping her in the blanket as he basically slung her over his shoulder and started walking towards what she assumed to be the shelter.

"Damnit! I have legs! I can walk!"

"This way is easier," Fu muttered somewhere behind her. "Pleasant dreams, slug-kisser."

Hana had a half retort on her lips before she was tossed into bed, and her head met her pillow.

And then, well. It didn't take long for her to lose interest and let her tired body rest.

X

The next day, Hana woke up with her Izumi's hair in her mouth and her face pressed firmly into the crook of the other girl's neck. With a start, she pushed herself away.

"Sorry 'zumi, you're cute but you're a little too young for me."

Izumi's eyes cracked and she gave the Inuzuka a strange, tired look. "What are you talking about?"

Hana grimaced and pulled a long, dark strand of Uchiha-hair out of her mouth. "...Tastes like lavender. Cuddle with Shinko if you're cold next time."

Izumi rolled her eyes and tucked her hair into the collar of her shirt. "I would, but she left the tent and didn't come back last night. It's not my fault if I reached out while I was asleep."

"When did she leave?" Hana rubbed the sleep from her eyes and peeled off her blankets, helping Izumi do the same as they got up to go to the campfire. "The Haimaru brothers went out at some point this morning for a bathroom break- you don't suppose she's with them?"

"Maybe." Izumi stifled a yawn, her gait slow and tired as they stepped around their sleeping classmates.

The morning was cool and quiet as they pulled the flaps to their tent open. Both girl stretched and winced after sleeping on a bed of sticks for eight hours, and Hana felt no shame in rubbing away the water in her eyes after finding a particularly large, ugly bruise on her hip. It felt as if someone had kicked her in the back while she was sleeping, and she had been tired enough to sleep through it. She bet it was Fu. The Yamanaka had looked far too comfortable in his double-stuffed sleeping bag.

"Haruto's supposed to be on watch, but I doubt the Haimaru brothers are lost or something. What do you think we'll have for breakfast? If we still _have_ anything..."

"Hold up for a second." Hana tugged on Izumi's sleeve, keeping her from walking forward. "Do you… sense anything?"

Izumi blinked at her. "I don't know… am I supposed to? I'm not that good of a sensor yet."

"I dunno." She set a trickle of chakra to her nose and mouth, and when she didn't smell any unusual scents in the area, she tried tasting the air. Nothing… unusual…

"Did you just lick the air…?"

"If I said yes, will you think i'm being weird?"

Izumi paused, her brows coming together. "Um… maybe?" She gave Hana a strange look. "Does it make you a better sensor..?"

Hana shook her head, leading the girl forwards towards the campfire. "No. Smell and taste are really intertwined senses, so I thought maybe I'd be able to taste something if my nose couldn't."

"Oh." Izumi padded on. "Does that mean you can't eat spicy food?"

"You know, It never really occurred to me to try." She stopped again, and this time, Izumi turned around to look at her.

"What now?" She crossed her arms over her chest and looked around the forest. "Hana, you're starting to scare me."

Hana chewed her lip, clenching and unclenching her hands. "There's definitely nothing, but…"

"But what?"

She turned her head towards the campfire, now visible, sitting empty with the flame still burning. "I don't think anyone's been here for a while now."

"But…" Izumi took a few tentative steps towards the fire, before Hana's fingers were holding onto the sleeve of her sweater again. "Shinko and Haruto are supposed to be here though- why would they just leave…?" She pried away Hana's fingers, and quickly started making her way towards the fire.

"Izumi," Hana warned.

The Uchiha shook her head and kept walking. "They're probably just hiding or something. It doesn't make sense for them to disappear like that-"

 _Fwoosh-!_

Izumi froze as a kunai struck the ground in front of her.

She whirled around to look at hana, her heartbeat pounding in her ears. "What are you _doing_? You almost hit me!"

"I'm sorry!" Hana dropped her arm and ran over to her side. "I just- You didn't see it, I didn't know how to stop you in time."

"See _what_?" Izumi's hands were shaking.

"The pin."

Hana pocketed her thrown kunai and took a step to her left, brushing away some thick grass to reveal a tiny silver screw.

Izumi took a couple steps back. "Wh- what's a tripwire doing here? What does it do?"

"I think I have an idea," Hana murmured, inspecting the metal wire running along the path with a venomous glare. Instead of cutting the wire loose, she gestured for Izumi to step to the side as she knelt behind the little silver pin, wrapping her fingers around the wire before slowly, carefully, letting the trap activate.

A dozen senbon and throwing stars filled the space Izumi once stood.

The girl in question, let out a string of muted curses as she put both hands over her mouth and stared, her dark eyes wide and fearful.

Hana swallowed heavily. "Something's wrong. We should wake up the others. Who knows what other traps are out-"

"But what about Shinko?" Izumi blinked to clear away the tears in her eyes. "What about Haruto? And the Haimaru brothers? We can't just leave them."

Hana grimaced. "We won't be, we just need to-"

"Hey guys!"

Both girls whirled around at the sound of the voice, and Izumi breathed a sigh of relief when the sight of Shinko waved back.

"Oh my gosh- where have you been?" Izumi put a hand up to stop the Suna girl from saying anything as she took a step forward. "Nevermind. Just be careful. We almost triggered a trap set out here and there could be more of them-" Izumi looked down at Hana, holding onto her sleeve again. "What?"

Hana shook her head, eyes fixed to the girl in front of them. "I don't think… That's not…"

"Not what?" Izumi paled, and looked at her friend. "Shinko?"

The girl in front of them raised both of her hands. "Whoa, is everything okay? What did you mean before about traps? Are you guys alright?"

Hana started pulling Izumi back by the hood of her jacket. "Izumi don't trust her. It might look like Shinko and talk like her, but the real Shinko is somewhere else."

"But how do you _know that_ ," Izumi hissed in her ear, her hands clammy as she gripped Hana's arm. "Can you sense it?"

"I don't know," Hana whispered. "It kinda feels like her, but I can't know for certain. If I got close I could tell by scent, but-"

"-if it's not her, I don't want to get close." Izumi's grip was like a vice, squeezing the feeling out of Hana's forearm.

"Hana, Izumi, it's _me_ ," The girl said, taking a couple more steps towards them. Her lips twisted into a frown, and she gave them both a hurt look. "Are you really that scared you don't trust me?"

"Give us proof it's you then," Hana said, taking a bold step forward. Her hand slipped into Izumi's and she squeezed it in an effort to make the Uchiha feel like she had a hold on things, (when in reality, she had absolutely no idea).

Shinko blinked, and pursed her lips for a moment. "Well, uh... I'm from Suna. I moved here a little while ago."

Hana and Izumi traded looks.

Either It was shinko talking, or whoever was impersonating her had been listening in on their conversation. _Creepy._

"Go on," Hana said.

Shinko shrugged one shoulder. "I lived with my dad before we moved and my mom is from Konoha. Is that good enough?"

Izumi licked her lips. "Just… uh, one more." Her eyes flicked back at the tent, before focusing once more on the blonde in front of them. "Who in the class... has a crush on you?"

The girl paused, her eyebrows furrowing. "A… crush?" Her cheeks quickly turned a shade of pink. "Somebody in class has crush on me? who?"

 _That was wasn't a straight answer, but-_

Izumi sighed a breath of relief, and let go of Hana's hand. "Okay, I think we're good, the real Shinko has no idea about Tenma and his freaky feelings."

"Tenma?" Shinko took a few long strides and looked at Hana and Izumi like they had grown an extra head. "You're kidding, right? I thought we were just friends."

"You are," Hana said, keeping the girl at an arms length, just in case. "Which is how I guess he started liking you. It's all hormones or something, don't ask me."

"Well, uh," Shinko tucked a strand of blonde hair behind her ear, fidgeting slightly. "It's kinda weird knowing now. I kinda want to go talk to him…"

"Hold up-" Hana grasped her arm, keeping her from moving.

Shinko blinked in surprised and frose. "Something wrong?"

"When was the last time you took a bath?" Hana said, wrinkling her nose slightly. "You smell like you haven't bathed in weeks."

X

About three things happened at once that Izumi was absolutely certain of. First, Hana's nose was sharper than she gave the girl credit for.

"Ha-!"

 _Clang-!_

"Izumi, please _please_ try to take cover!"

Second, the Shinko who had approached them had definitely been a fake, and the person attacking them right now with the face of their friend was like, evil, or something. She didn't really know why they were attacking, but evil didn't really need an explanation, did it?

They had _also_ been the person who had set up the previous traps, because the idea of another person running around doing evil stuff in their vicinity was just too terrifying to consider.

 _Thwang-!_

The doppelganger laughed, ducking under another handful of thrown shuriken. "You'll have to have better aim than that!" She rolled, and thrust out her arm-

Izumi cried out when a kunai went whistling through the forest and got lost in her tangle of hair. Hana was somewhere behind her, and also everywhere, using up her chakra just trying to keep up with the double as they rocketed around the small clearing. It was surprising how little sound they made other than crashing branches and various cursing.

"Can you just-" Hana tucked and rolled as a tree branch went flying in her general direction. There was a blazing fire in her eyes when she got up. "-stay fucking still so I can hit you!"

The doppelganger peered at her underneath the coverage of a tree. Her two blonde braids hanging by her face as she looked at them upside down. "Why would I do that?"

"Because-" Hana's foot crashed into the bark where she stood, but the space was empty as she got there. "It's _really_ freaking annoying!"

"I wonder what the older one has to say," said a voice right behind Izumi. She whirled around instantly, but nobody was there. "Scared stiff yet? You will be."

"Piss off!" Hana's first shot past Izumi's face- just grazing her cheek- before striking the nin's chest, knocking them back.

The fake Shinko clutched her left breast.

The words fled Izumi's mouth without thinking. "You punched her in the _boob_?"

Hana painted by her side. "I hit her, didn't I?"

A telling amount of killing intent flooded the area, forcing Izumi to take a couple steps back, her heart in her throat.

"You shouldn't have _done that_ ," The double said, and oh- It really wasn't Shinko anymore as her hair turned black, and her skin paled. Instead of looking at them with Shinko's navy blues, the nin's eyes were hard and black. Peering at them under a fringe of slate bangs as she grew in height and widened in stature. Whatever transformation she had been under, it had worn off. That, or she decided now was the best time to utterly freak them out with whatever was going on her skin, because _Jesus-_

Dozens of steel wires criss crossed up her arms and dug into her skin. It was something out of a horror movie actually- that couldn't have been intentional, could it?

Izumi found herself taking another step back, a kunai was in her hand, but it was shaking more than her fingers were. H-how could someone do that to themselves? Mutilate their arms and legs with wire- what did the Kunoichi want? Why had she taken Shinko?

"Nice trick," Hana said somewhere to Izumi's left, her hands clenching together in an attempt to stay grounded. There was a tremor in her voice. "Now, what the hell do you want with us? Why are you attacking a group of _academy students_?"

A blur of motion proved that the enemy nin wasn't above attacking while talking. Her voice was raspy as she answered, her leg sweeping out to catch the bony side of Hana's arm. "You're in my _way_!"

"Yeah, and you're on my _nerves._ " Hana's fingers dug into the woman's leg, and the kunoichi cried out and drew back, fresh blood leaking into her ninja sandals.

Izumi stared at her friend. "What was _that_?"

"Fuckin- bullshit wires. I'm not trying that again." Hana flexed her hand and winced as she looked down at her mangled fingernails. Was it Izumi's imagination, or did they look a lot more like claws, now that they were tipped with blood?

"Pretty trick." The woman across from them straightened, seemingly unaffected by the shallow wound in her calf. It seemed as if the frayed lines circling around her legs knit back together from some unknown jutsu or chakra manipulation Izumi couldn't spot. "I've forgotten who's forest this is- a little bitch like you should watch where your nails slice. Choose the wrong wire, and you could end up with a couple fewer fingers."

Something flashed in Hana's eyes, and she wiped the excess blood on her pant leg. Without breaking eye contact with the kunoichi, Hana barked, "Izumi, run and get the others. Now."

Izumi swallowed. "But-"

A telling amount of killing intent rose from Hana's general direction, and, even though it wasn't directed towards her, even though it sang of protection and ferocious defense-

Izumi fled. Leaving her friend to fend for herself.

(She was a useless coward, and Izumi hated herself for it.)

(If anything happened to Hana, she wouldn't forgive herself.)

X

Hana was going to give herself a gold star for something like an adult after all of this was over. Like, damn, that was some good acting on her half-

 _Crash-!_

Hana's nerves skyrocketed as she ducked and rolled under another lethal barrage of kunai coming out of fucking nowhere. And- Fuck, was that an entire tree? Did an entire tree just fall to the ground? Oh god she was so _screwed._

"Leave!" The kunoichi screeched, and a fist swung at her from her blind spot and struck Hana right in the jaw.

Hana stumbled backwards and took off in another direction, hoping that she was tempting enough bait to follow as opposed to a tent of sleeping children. Crazy murderous ninja still had enough humanity not to kill children, right?

A kunai whizzed past her head, nearly taking out one of her eyes, and Hana got her answer.

 _She_ was a fucking child. The woman was trying to kill _her._

 _Why couldn't she have woken up to eggs and bacon today? Why did it have to be stab-happy murderers?_

"Take the stupid forest! Live here! It's yours!" Hana called over her shoulder, her fingers hastily wiping away the hot sticky blood running down her face. Her answer, was a shuriken aimed for her forehead.

Hana ducked just in time- and a hysterical laugh bubbled past her lips when her situation really sunk in. This woman was honestly _truly_ trying to fucking kill her.

Hana ducked and launched herselff off a tree when the Kunoichi appeared before her, her teeth bared and her joints creaking as they strained against her oddly wire-wrapped appendages. "Stop _moving_."

"Wow, would you look at that!" Hana swung from a branch and landed on all fours, pivoting when a blade came swiping at her side, missing by an inch. "Role reversal!"

Hana really didn't want to die. God, She really, _really_ didn't.

"Just-" the kunoichi's eyes tracked her as she jumped from tree to tree, using her newfound tree-walking skills to good use. "Quit it!"

Hana squeezed her eyes together for a second before she kicked off, launching herself at the woman with full force, before she brought her foot down-

The feeling of her heel coming in contact with a human skull sent shivers up Hana's spine, and she stumbled as she hit the ground.

The Kunoichi's eyes blurred-

 _And the entire area burnt with furious, hungry killing intent._

Han choked and felt herself freeze up- her tongue felt heavy and thick in her mouth, and she bit down on it hard enough to draw blood. She couldn't feel it. Her nerves were fried- _Oh god, she didn't want to die._

The wires unfurled from the kunoichi's arms and legs like great spools, and she took a step forward with a thick, twisted rope in her hands. "You're going to regret that," She spat.

Oh god was that a noose? Was she going to wrap it around Hana's throat? Was she going to- Why couldn't Hana move? _Why couldn't she say anything?_

 _She didn't want to die. She hadn't even done anything with her life yet._

As the kunoichi grabbed a fistful of hana's hair, she let out a tiny, terrified sob, and pulsed her chakra in a desperate S.O.S in case Izumi or any of her classmates were actually looking for her.

But no help came.

Instead, her face was slammed into the ground and her arms were jerked back and bound together. A sandal dug itself into the soft place between her shoulder blades, and Hana was too terrified to question why she wasn't dead yet, and was more focused on mentally screaming:

 _This was it._ Seven bullshit years and another two decades of toiling away, and this was how she was going to die.

 _How pathetic was that?_

 _Pathetic. A helpless child all over again._

 _It was like her second birth all over again, except this time, she was going to die._

The kunoichi's head snapped up as a weak chakra signature flickered to life somewhere close. "What the hell was that?"

"Why don't you-" Hana sniffled, her nose bleeding in the dirt. "-go check it out?"

The woman tightened the rope around Hana's wrists, pushing her deeper into the ground with her knee. "Shut up."

" _Bite me_ ," she wheezed. At least she'd always have her witty retorts when she died. Good fucking luck those did her.

With a start, the Kunoichi got up. The Forest around them seemed to sway and bend with a sudden, intense gust of wind, and the woman sneered, tossing a wired kunai at a nearby tree. She tossed another, and the wires crossed each other looking like the beginning of a spider web.

She didn't get her traps set up soon enough before a sudden, familiar crashing echoed nearby.

"What the hell-?"

 _ **Crash-!**_

Hana had the most _glorious_ smile on her face as the bear-

The bear she ran up a tree to hide from, the bear that probably would've killed her a couple days ago-

 _Barreled_ into her attacker in a blur of teeth and fur, tearing through the hastily set up ninja wire like _thread_. With a thunderous growl, the grizzly was up on both hind legs, swiping at a very confused, _terrified_ nin with its big meaty paws.

 _Hana had a newfound appreciation for bears_ , she thought, as she started squirming against her ties. _What a lovely, fantastic animal._

...Just as long as he kept his attention on the kunoichi and not her, they could be friends.

"Hana, I'm here," said a voice behind her, quickly slashing through her binds. Nomura-sensei rubbed a little feeling back into Hana's hands she looked over her wounds. "God, I'm _so sorry._ This wasn't supposed to happen-"

"-I'm fine, thanks sensei." Hana swallowed and held her wrists close to her chest. She looked up at the older woman, noting her chuunin uniform replacing her usual blouse and skirt. "Have you been here this whole time?"

Her teacher swallowed. "Not long, I had hoped the two assigned to everyone would keep an eye on you all, but-"

"The threat to group B has been taken care of," Anbu Hound said, appearing by Nomura-sensei's side in a puff of smoke and leaves. "Jackal's taking care of the rest."

Her teacher nodded, and jerked her head towards to the skirmish a little ways off. "You know what to do, I trust."

Hound nodded, before disappearing again, his chakra signature humming with a current that reminded Hana of a swarm of bees.

She quickly got to her feet, taking nomura-sensei's outstretched arm when it was offered to her. "W-what happened? Do you know if Shinko's okay? Or Haruto? Oh _god_ , what happened to the Haimaru brothers?" The words kept flying from Hana's mouth before she could stop them. "If they're hurt I don't know what I'll do. They're just little boys, they don't know how to take care of themselves-"

"Hey, hey, Hana-" Nomura-sensei knelt down and met her at eye level. "They're okay. Shinko-san has them, alright? Hitomo bound them to a tree a ways off from your camp."

"Hitomo..?" Hana wiped a patch of still-wet blood from her cheek. It was blood, not water, shut up.

Her teacher's eyes hardened and tensed as a particularly chakra-charged jutsu fell a nearby tree. The bear and Anbu Hound surged forwards.

"The woman who attacked you was a missing nin who was thought to be dead about eight months ago. She's been in hiding in the woods around Konoha for some, I suppose." She sighed, raking a hand through her raven hair. "I didn't expect _anything_ like this to happen- I'm so, so sorry."

Hana bit her lip and watched Anbu Hound twist and suckerpunch Hitomo right in the jaw, forcing her back. She glanced at her teacher. "Is the bear friendly?"

"Yes." She seemed to preen a little bit at the fact. "Ur-san is my summons. He was supposed to make sure none of you got too reckless while you were out in the woods." She sighed and wrung her hands a bit. "I suppose it only made things worse for you, though."

Hana shrugged and continued watching the ongoing fight- now, being pushed farther into the dense forest. "Does this mean the test is over? Can we go home?"

"Yes," Nomura-sensei said, sighing quietly in resignation. "You can go home now."

"Oh thank god." Hana let herself slide to the ground once more, ignoring the way her teacher squeaked when she was suddenly carrying Hana's full weight. "I'm so tired of this _stupid_ forest."

X

"Hana!"

"Izumi!"

"Shinko!"

Three pairs of arms clung tightly to each other as the girls were reunited, and Hana tried not to fidget as the attention turned towards her cuts a bruises. And… then the tears started. Wonderful

"I-I'm so s-sorry! This is all m-my fault," Izumi wept, her hand fluttering weakly over the butterfly bandage covering Hana's eyebrow. Her entire frame shook. "Does it hurt a lot?"

Hana shifted uncomfortably. "I'll be fine, Nomura-sensei said it might scar a bit."

"Scar?" Shinko gasped. "Don't tell me you're going to let it heal naturally."

"I mean, maybe?" Hana poked at her bandage. "A scar seems kinda cool."

Izumi pulled Hana's hand away. "You don't _want_ a scar. A medic can just heal you up like it was never there in the first place."

Hana squirmed, biting her lip when both girls looked at her funny. "I… I dunno I'll think about it. I kind of want to keep it though. Aren't scars supposed to be trophies of victory or something?"

"Maybe, but not _face_ scars." Shinko scowled at her. "We can stop by the hospital when we get back, okay? At least for the bruises on your wrists."

Hana nodded, letting the older girl pull away from their impromptu group hug. "As long as you get checked out too. The goose-egg on your head is terrifying. It look like it's going to burst."

The Suna girl winced and gently pat the red-blue welt on her forehead. "Nomura-sensei said it was all superficial. Or… whatever that means. I do feel a little dizzy though."

"We should make sure Haruto is okay too…" Izumi murmured, watching the Haimaru brothers nip at hana's heels. She tucked one into the back of her hood, slipped another one into the front of her jacket, and tucked the third under her arm to pacify them, and Izumi sighed. "At least nobody from the other group got hurt. You said there were more traps over where they were?"

"That's what the teacher said," Hana muttered, fiddling with her bandage again. The skin under the the pad itched. "At least none of them got traumatized. Do you think Itachi and Tenma are doing okay?"

"Ask one of them now," Fu said as he walked towards them, hands in his pockets. His eyes bounced off the cut on her forehead and he shifted uncomfortably as Itachi rushed forward.

"Hana-san, are you alright? You-"

Hana snorted and stopped him before the tiny Uchiha could continue. "I'm okay, _really_. It'll just scar a bit."

The turmoil in his eyes made Hana flinch. " _Scar_? Are you sure you'll be okay?"

"Yeah- what? You don't think I'll look even more awesome?" Hana flipped her hair over her shoulder in an attempt to diffuse the tension. "If you're feeling a bit jealous, just say so."

Itachi gripped her shoulder with one hand, fixing her with a Very Serious stare. "It's okay to say that you were scared Hana-san. It's not a crime."

Hana swallowed heavily, shifting the puppy in her arms. "I, uh. It's fine."

"Are you sure?" Itachi asked, pensive.

"I mean, I got my ass kicked, but more or less-" She bit her lip and shrugged off the memory of nearly dying, nearly getting a kunai to the face, nearly losing _everything all over again_ , flashed before her eyes. She gave Itachi a tight smile, and squeezed his arm. "Thanks for worrying."

"That's what friends are for," he said back, pacified somewhat as she forced her body into a lax calm. He gestured to the dog in her arms. "Do you need any help with that?"

"Please, take one, I have so many," Hana groaned, happily dropping Kemuri into his outstretched arms.

Fu noisily shuffled his feet next to them. "Can we go home now? I'm tired of heart to heart moments and listening to the sounds of _nature_ all the time. I haven't slept right in _days._ "

"Yeah, we know, you keep kicking us in your sleep," Izumi said, rubbing a sore spot that they couldn't see. "Give a warning to any future girlfriend you have or boyfriend- your feet are bony and your toes _hurt_."

"T-they do not!" Fu spluttered indignantly. "My feet are fine!"

Izumi gave him a blank stare. "Do you want me to show you the footprint on my spine?"

Hana sighed and let herself relax as the sound of her friends bickering lulled into her into a familiar calm. "Guys," she said, her shoulders heavy. "Let's go home."

Thankfully, nobody fought with her.

X

 **End of chapter 19~**

Lmao, if this story is remembered for anything, I want "Itachi, I'm sure Tobirama is a good kisser even though he's super dead. Just take one for the team." remembered forever in your minds. Please put that on my grave when I die. Let this be what i bring to the series.

On another note, I'm super excited about this next ark! All the stuff is gonna happen! We'll see what sort of prediction you guys will come up with in the comments. I guarantee you… well, most of it will probably be spot on. There have been… some hints… Probably only me and the beta will pick up on, but you never know ;) see you next chapter!


	20. Chapter 20 - Nice To Meet You

**An:** Sorry about the lapse in updates again, I had surgery a little while ago and school totally sucked up any remaining strength I had for writing :') I hope you all had relaxing, soothing holidays this winter. And if not, boy, can I _relate_.

 **Words:** **6456**

 **X**

 **Chapter 20 - Nice To Meet You**

 **X**

"So, Doctor, will I make it? Or will you be forced to amputate?" Hana asked, her eyes wide and searching.

The poor medic she was clinging to sighed and set down his needle. "Inuzuka-san, please keep your voice down. Your friends outside can still hear you."

Hana sighed and sat back down on her stool, absentmindedly waving a hand at Itachi and Izumi, who waited on the other side of a plexiglass window. "They won't stop _staring_. What else am I supposed to do? It's just a little head wound. I'm not gonna _die_."

"They're concerned for you; you should appreciate the sentiment," the man said, taking out a little pair of scissors to snip a small piece of thread that hung from her brow. He scowled, looking at his work. "I still don't understand why you're so adamant on having it heal over naturally, but," he shrugged. "Suit yourself. I have other patients waiting."

"I can leave? Sweet!" Hana hopped off her stool and made a break for the door.

"Hold on."

Hana froze, mid knob-turn. "Yes?"

"You want a sticker, or candy?" he said, holding out a plastic jar, and a roll of swirly stickers with shuriken and kunai printed on them.

Hana scoffed, looking at the man with disdain. "I'm practically an adult. Why would I want one of those?"

The man hummed, looking down at his sweet treasures. "I think I have some dinosaur stickers back in my cabinet if you let me look-"

Hana was at his side in an instant. "Show me _._ "

Five minutes later, Hana passed Itachi a sucker and stuck a velociraptor sticker onto Izumi's forehead. "The doctor begged me to take these, so you can have the extras."

Itachi quickly unwrapped his candy. "Did he give you any more sweets?"

"Nope." She flashed him a smile, and stuck out her neon red tongue. Itachi recoiled at the sight of her half-eaten cherry candy. The painted sunflowers and birds on the wall smelled like antiseptic, and once again Hana's sensitive nose was starting to get the better of her. Blood and bleach…. And something organic was in the air. She didn't like it. "Can we get out of here now?"

"Gladly," Izumi sighed, leading them away from the emergency childcare portion of the hospital. Izumi looked like she had smelled whatever was in the air as well. She pinched the bridge of her nose. "Do you guys smell… burning?"

"It's the bleach. Someone spilt some a couple metres back." Hana peeled the backing off an iguanodon sticker, and slapped it onto her arm, next to the tyrannosaurus rex on her shoulder. There. That should protect her from the nasty smells... somehow.

"Just keep walking and we'll make it to the main hall," Itachi said, stuffing the wrapper from his sucker into his pocket.

The conversation was quiet and tired, after the events of their camping trip. Shinko and Haruto had left with their teacher to have an interview with a Nara, presumably about what happened when they had been kidnapped. According to them, they hadn't been in any real trouble like Hana had been, since they hadn't fought back, or antagonized her, which was good. There was an underlying fear within the class, however, that if they didn't act on their best behaviour, Nomura-sensei would get in trouble.

Izumi pursed her lips. "What do you think our parents will say after all of this? I hope Nomura-sensei doesn't lose her job."

Hana shrugged, and resisted the urge to pick at her stitches. "It wasn't really her fault. Sure, she left us in the woods and let us fend for ourselves when there was a missing nin running around, but-"

"Tha' doesn't really he'p her case, Ha' san," Itachi said, his teeth scraping against his sucker as he talked.

"There are a handful of clan-oriented students in our class with families who have enough power to actually remove a teacher from their position. My mum, Itachi's dad; the kid who sits in the front row sniffs glue and has a rich dad. Probably a couple others, but there are only so many wealthy merchants and children of clan heads," she explained, the other kids paying close attention. God, when had she become the voice of reason for their class? "I was the one in danger, I doubt anyone else has more of a reason to get upset." Hana shrugged one shoulder, gesturing to her bandage. "I'm fine now anyway- if someone gets pissed I'll talk to my mom or the Hokage or something. Don't worry about it."

"Would you actually talk to the Hokage if someone wanted Nomura-sensei fired?" Itachi asked.

Hana grimaced. "Talking to the man himself sounds kinda terrifying, but… _maybe_?"

As soon as she got the words out, a blue and grey blur shot past Hana's field of vision and she stumbled back in alarm. _The hell?_

"Itachi, your mom asked me to pick you up!"

Shooting the older Uchiha boy beside him a pained look, Itachi helped Hana back onto her feet. "Hana-san, are you alright?"

For a second, the image of the missing-nin hucking kunai at her forehead filled her mind, but Hana quickly blinked the image away. "Y-yeah, I'm good."

Her attacker straightened up and faced her. "I'm so sorry-! People keep telling me I'm too fast for my own good. Are you okay? You didn't get hurt, right?"

"I.. yeah, just for a second there, I-" she blinked and stared at the twelve year old standing next to Itachi, and... was a bit at a loss for words.

"Oh! You're an Inuzuka, that's cool," he said, sighing once he saw she wasn't bleeding or anything. His eyes lingered on her bandaged forehead, but soon jumped back to the tattoos on her face. His eyes narrowed and his mouth curled into a smile. "Oh, wait- Itachi said one of his friends at school was an Inuzuka. Are you Hana? It's great to finally meet you!"

"U-uh.." Was this.. who she thought it was? Honestly? Hana was.. wow. Hana had no idea what to say. She awkwardly shook his hand. "Nice to… uh, meet you too?"

"Hana-san, this my cousin, Shisui," Itachi said, taking the sucker out of his mouth for once. He shot a look at the the older boy, who was still grinning down at her. Itachi shook his head at the boy. "We just got back from camping. Where have _you_ been?"

"On another mission, of course." Shisui grinned at him. "This one was a B-rank! My sensei's finally taking my promotion seriously this time. I can't even _begin_ to explain all the training exercises Shirakumo-sensei made me do while we were outside Konoha."

Izumi huffed at her distant-relative. "Somehow, I'd like to think this is what you get for leaving so long. Do you even have a social life anymore? I feel sorry for you."

Shisui grimaced momentarily, before pulling the girl into an awkward (embarrassing) hug. "Izumi-chan, don't be so cruel-! I missed hanging out with you too of course!"

"Then where's my souvenir? Lemme go!" Izumi jabbed him in the side with her elbow, forcing herself free.

"That wasn't very nice," Itachi said to her, frowning.

Izumi's face turned pink. "He started it!"

Hana coughed into the palm of her hand, standing awkwardly to the side. Seeing Shisui in the flesh was kind of a weird experience. She had known he'd show up eventually- she just… didn't expect him to be so young.

With curly hair, long lashes and- shit, were those dimples when he smiled? Damnit, did all Uchiha have to be beautiful and doomed at the same time? Was that just the law of the universe, or was fate actually just throwing pretty people at her hoping she'd care enough to try and save them...

Well, she'd already dug herself into a hole sending the Hokage a message, she might as well make a good impression with Itachi's better half.

Hana rubbed the back of her head. "So…uh, Chunin. That's cool... Shisui-san."

She grimaced at how awkward that sounded. Izumi and Itachi traded looks. Christ, why did she have to try and befriend every doomed person in this godforsaken village?

Maybe she'd get lucky and Shisui wouldn't want anything to do with her...

With no such luck, the older boy beamed at her. "Thank you! I got promoted just a couple months ago, after a really tough C-rank mission that turned into _an A rank_ that-" he cleared his voice and cut himself off, "...that I am totally restricted from telling anyone about." He shot a guilty look at Itachi, who was scowling at him. "Sorry for bringing it up."

Itachi sighed, staring mournfully at the hitai-ie on Shisui's forehead. "You _never_ tell me about your missions."

The older boy winked at him. "Graduate early when the season ends, and I'll tell you as much as I'm legally allowed."

"What happens if you tell us _illegally_?" Izumi asked, a mischievous gleam in her eyes.

"I'll probably get dragged off and none of you will ever see me again," Shisui said very seriously. When the kids around him sent him shocked and terrified looks, he panicked. "I'm just joking! Ha… ha, you don't have to look so heartbroken."

"With the amount of missions you take, we barely see you enough as it is," Izumi said, scowling at him. "As the only other clansman our age _we actually know,_ you've made family meetings even more painful and boring. I should jab you in the side again for that, _jerk._ "

The older Uchiha put up both of his hands in defence. "W-what about Itachi? Surely you're not on your own _that much_ Izumi-chan?"

Izumi looked at the younger boy. "Yeah… he's… with his dad most of the time."

"Clan meetings aren't supposed to fun, as far as I'm aware," Hana sighed. She made a special effort to make eye contact everyone, including Shisui, so her nerves didn't get the better of her. "Just a lot of adults discussing trade agreements and treaties."

"You've been to one before?" Shisui asked, sounding actually interested.

Hana shrugged one shoulder at him. "Kinda? It was… kind of a shitshow to be honest. I had to go because somebody's gotta take over after my mom, and I'm a favourite for the role. To be honest, I kinda wish the role didn't involve fighting my relatives for the opportunity to speak. They use knives sometimes."

"Wait, your mom is the head of the clan?" Shishi grinned at her. "That's so cool! Has she taught you any super-powerful Jutsu yet? "

Hana frowned. "You know what? Not even a single family jutsu has been passed onto me. How cheap is that?"

"I am so sorry," Shisui said, solemnly shaking his head.

Izumi rolled her eyes and nudged Hana in the side. "Hey, speaking of family, isn't that Hasuki-San over there? He looks kinda panicked..."

"Does he? Like, on a scale of one to ten, one being mild and ten like an allergic reaction-" Hana looked to where her friend was pointing and- yup. Hasuki was harassing some poor nurse outside. Was his face kinda red too? Damn, okay, a level eight panic then. She sighed and turned to the three kids beside her. "Sorry guys, I think I gotta go…"

"That's alright, we can walk Izumi back to her house before we get to the clan compound, right Itachi?" Shisui said, looking down at the younger boy.

He nodded. "I'll see you at school next week, Hana-san?"

"What, no sparring on saturday?" Hana said, raising an eyebrow at him.

"No, I…." Itachi's shoulders slumped a little. "I think a break, just this once, is okay…"

"Oh thank god, I was afraid I was going to have to bribe you with more candy," she sighed in relief. She turned to the other kids. "I'll see you guys later, okay? Thanks for coming to the hospital with me, and uh, Shisui, it was nice to meet you."

"It was nice to meet you too, Hana-san!" the older boy grinned, giving her a quick wave. He dropped his hand though, and hopped over to her side. "Actually, why don't I walk you to your relative for a second. That's okay, right?"

"Uh, okay?" Hana shot Itachi and Izumi one last look before following Shisui, awkwardly thanking him when he held one of the main doors open for her and walked at an even pace beside her.

For a moment, neither spoke. And Hana's nerves made her want to crawl into a nearby bush to hide. What… could he possibly want from her? What did she possibly give? Was he not cool with her being friends with his family members? Was he going to threaten her? He seemed like a pretty cool guy…

"So, Hana-san, You've been Itachi's friend at school for some time now, huh?

That was it. He wanted her to back off. Well… shit. That would go badly for a whole number of reasons. One, because Hasuki and his mom were friends and she'd end up disappointing both, two, because she would actually hate herself for doing it- oh, who was she kidding. She wasn't going to stop being Itachi's friend. She made her bed the second she found out who he was and decided to hang around anyway.

Hana cleared her throat. "Do you… uh, have a problem with that?"

"What? No! The opposite actually," he laughed. "I think it's really great that you're there! He's finally starting to come out of his shell, I'm really grateful, actually."

Hana sighed in relief. "Oh, good, I'm glad. For a second there I thought… You know what, nevermind. Itachi's a good kid. Awfully reserved and too polite for a seven year old, but a good kid."

"See, that's what I like about you! You _get_ it," he grinned, clapping her on the back. "Fugaku-sama is a great leader and a good dad, as far as I'm aware, but he puts a lot of pressure on Itachi to be the best he can be. But he should be a kid as long as possible before he's forced to grow up, don't you think?"

Hana blinked at him. "That's… incredibly perceptive of you. How old did you say you were again?"

"I didn't say how old I am," he said, smiling. He tapped his metal forehead protector. "I'm ten. Doesn't mean I'm not wrong about Itachi."

Hana shoved her hands into her pockets and sighed. "No, you're right. You've known him longer after all- I've only known him for a little while. Has he always been so… I don't know, not _shy_ , but-"

"-A little awkward? Yeah. He's getting better at it though, thanks to you and the rest of his friends at school." Shisui said, smiling. "I'm really grateful for that, actually. He's like a little brother to me, and it's nice to see him taking breaks and eating candy and doing things people his age _should_ be doing."

The sincerity to his voice caught Hana a bit off guard. She awkwardly shuffled her feet. "Well, uh, I'm glad I could help a bit? Though, he's probably just skipping out on our sparring practice to do some shuriken practice or work on his fireball technique or something."

Shisui frowned. "I'll have to ask his mom or something to confiscate his shuriken pouch if that's the case…"

Hana cleared her throat. "So, uh, that's all you wanted to talk to be about then? Your love for Itachi and eternal thanks for me, gracing him with my friendship?"

"W-well, uh," Shisui spluttered. "M-maybe? I mean, I wouldn't say it like that, but-"

Hana winked at him and started walking in the direction of her babysitter. "It was nice meeting you Shisui! Maybe next time we meet you won't end up knocking me over."

He wrinkled his nose and called back. "I'm in the village for a while still, maybe next time we run into each other we can spar!"

Hana grinned. "As long as you're okay being the one falling on their butt next time!"

"It's a deal!"

X

"Hasuki, guess what, I just made a new friend!"

The second she was within her babysitter's sights she was immediately crushed in an all encompassing bear hug. The jumbled words that came out of his mouth were mainly:

"Hana I can't believe it!"

"ALone in the woods! For days!"

"Missing nin, wire traps- your teacher is DEAD."

And, "Are you okay? I'll fix your forehead, hold on-"

Hana slapped his glowing healing hands away from her stitches. "No! I want it to scar, leave it alone."

Hasuki looked like he short circuited for a second. "Want… it to scar? But… why…?"

"It'll look cool," she said, and instantly regretted it.

"You think it looks cool? Are you going to keep thinking that when it's white and stays there for the rest of your life? Scars aren't a fashion cioce, you can't just get rid of it when you get tired of them. Do you have any idea what Tsume-sama would say to me if she knew I let you keep a facial scar? She'd skin me alive. Speaking of- where's Natsumi, I'm going to turn her into a rug for letting this happen to you."

Besides contemplating how much air Hasuki must need to say all of that with one breath, Hana asked, "Are you talking about Nomura-sensei?"

"I'm certainly not talking about the anbu who did their _jobs_ and kept you _safe_ ," he said, scowling. "Why, who did you think I was talking about?"

"I dunno, I just wasnt aware that she goes by her last name when she teaches. And that you're on a first name basis with her." Hana raised an eyebrow at him. "Anything you'd like to confess?"

Hasuki's face went particularly blank. "We were on the same genin team together."

"Whoa, what? Why didn't you ever say something before?" Hana said.

Hasuki sighed and gestured for her to start walking towards home. "It never came up. It's in the past, anyway."

"Bullshit, it is! That's like, super relevant information?"

Hasuki scowled at her. "Please watch your language."

Hana nudged him in the side as they kept walking. "Come on, tell me, was she cute when she was younger? Did you two ever…?"

"What? No!" Hasuki said, scandalized. "We were on the same team for about five months and then we disbanded. She was overbearing and never stopped talking- that's it!"

"Huh, sounds like someone familiar," Hana murmured.

Hasuki's face flushed. "Take that back- I'm nothing like her. The very idea that me and her are anything even _somewhat_ similar-"

Hana rolled her eyes and drowned out his monologue. "So, I hear she has a bear summons now. Pretty cool, huh?"

"Yeah, she _would_ ," Hasuki said, glowing at the sidewalk in front of them. Eventually, he sighed, and crossed his arms over his chest. "I'm over it. I'm sure she makes a fine teacher and summoner, or whatever she does. I don't really care anymore, to be honest."

"Whoa, what happened between the two of you?" Hana said, taking note of his sullen attitude.

Hasuki looked away from her, his shoulders tight. "It happened a long time ago. Really, it's in the past."

"Okay, I'll drop it," Hana said, pursing her lips. For the next couple moments, their walk back home was silent, until she spoke again. "Wait, do you still care about what happened on the camping trip then? Because if so-"

"I'll _kill her!_ " Hasuki seethed, fire in his eyes.

Hana winced. "Go easy? She was pretty apologetic last time we spoke."

He pursed his lips. "I'll write her a very strongly worded letter, at least."

X

The Haimaru brothers paced outside the bathroom door as Hana lowered herself into their too-small bathtub, her knees already breaking the surface of the water when she turned off the tap.

Hana had found… a new appreciation for bathing after her little vacation in the woods. Of course, she already completely appreciated having enough running water to shower whenever she wanted, but having the option to sit in a pool of hot water and just relax…. It was nice. It was really nice.

She didn't reek of dead animals or the charcoal she used to cover up the smell, or any of the organic smells that came with squatting in a forest for several days. No sheen of oily sweat covering her new jasmine scented skin. No scraggly, unkempt hair getting in her eyes. Just honest to god good shampoo and bubbles. The only evidence she did any outdoor backpacking was the neat white butterfly bandage on her forehead, and her scraggly looking nails, which got ripped to shreds on the missing nin's wired legs. But with a little tool called a nail file, they'd be back to new before anyone was the wiser. Maybe she;d paint them while she was at it. A spa day. She could use a spa day.

Drying her hair as she left the bathroom, Hana quietly padded across the hallway to her bedroom, throwing on a clean black shirt and pajama pants. If she just… got the option to hang out… all day without doing anything… she'd be so grateful. Honestly. Her bed looked so nice and comfortable...

 _ **Crash-!**_

Sometime in the living room fell to the ground with a horribly loud shattering sound. Hana was on her feet moving towards the noise before she even registered what was going on.

"Do you have a death wish?" Tsume sneered at a chunin, strangely sorting through their closet, as she comfortably sat on a soft chair across the room. She gestured to the urn broken in the middle fo the the floor. "Do you have any idea who that was?"

"U-Um, no, Inuzuka-san! I'm incredibly sorry for disrespecting you!" The man blubbered, bending down along with the other three chuunin with him to sweep up the ashes. "I had no idea you kept familial ashes within your closet!"

"We'll be more respectful when we continue cleaning it out, I swear!" said another chunin, as Hana sidestepped around them.

"Hmph. You better, _pest_ ," Kuromaru said, glaring down at them all with his one yellow eye.

Hana grimaced and turned to her mother, drinking a fruit cocktail. "Whats going on?"

"The Hokage sent them to search through the house for that thing I found before- you know, the, the club thing?" She waved her hand in the air. "Whatever. I gave it to /Hasuki, who said he gave it back to me, or one of us put it down, and now it's gone. Butterfingers over there and the peanut gallery are supposed to be searching the house for it, but have decided to piss off our ancestors instead."

"I am so, so sorry! Once again! We will pay for the damages!" said the desperate chuunin, a dustpan and broom in both hands.

Tsume grimaced when he started sweeping the ashes into a pile, but didn't stop him. "Please, just don't fucking do it again. When I die, I don't want to have to explain to my great great generations-past grandmother that part of her is mixed up with dirt and dog hair! I'll come back and haunt all three of your asses if it turns out you cost me a peaceful afterlife!"

All three chunin paled, and started sweeping a bit more delicately.

"Psst, Katsuya-kun, you're a seal master, right? Pass me one of your brushes," one whispered, his back to Hana and Tsume.

The one he spoke to tensed. "Those are for jutsu and emergencies only."

"Give me a brush to sweep these up more gently. Do you want to get haunted?"

Hana looked at her mother. "Are those actually a great relative's ashes?"

Tsume shrugged one shoulder and sipped her drink. "Maybe? I'm not actually sure. I just liked the vase."

"Honestly….?" Hana sighed and sat down next to her mother. "I don't know which is worse, you threatening to haunt those guys or the fact that you just keep a jar full of ashes in the closet you don't even know the story behind."

"Hey, ghosts and shit are real. You should be scared whatever was stuck in that jar doesn't come back to haunt this place," Tsume said, raising an eyebrow at her. "Besides, if I dont threaten them they might do something worse. An urn like that isn't important to me- it's the other stuff in that closet that has more meaning."

"Is that why you keep everything shoved in there, never to see the light of day?" Hana asked. "Don't we have like, our own family ashes? Graves? I've never actually heard much of our direct family."

"Other than what I've already told you?" Tsume pursed her lips and thought for a moment. She pointed to the footrest she was currently using, and jerked her chin towards it. "This thing here was from your Uncle Nodo. He bought it at a used furniture sale and was the first thing in his apartment when he first moved out."

Hana blinked and looked down at the footrest. "I… I grew up crawling around it. It's been here forever- really?"

Tsume set her drink to the side and sat up more, looking for something else in the house. She gestured towards a bookshelf across the room. "Half the things on there are from your Uncle Shita's collection. He was into medicine for the longest time- I think you would've liked him."

Hana padded over to the bookshelf and picking out all the old worn medicine books that looked unfamiliar. It didn't work- they all blended into one another. Why didn't she know any of this before? "What was Uncle Shita like? Did he like to read a lot?"

"God, _yes_. When we were kids I had to drag him out of the library after school so we wouldn't miss dinner. He practically lived there- the public library was the only place he really felt safe." She rubbed the back of her neck, shaking her head. "He got picked on alot, so I guess I can sympathise."

Hana frowned, a heavy text on the human body in her hands. "Why would anyone do that?"

Tsume shrugged one shoulder. "He didn't look like a boy before he transitioned, and the amount of times I found him on the verge of fighting someone for reminding him of that fact was probably in the _hundreds_ , the punk!" She found herself smiling at some old memory. "Me and Nodo used to take bets on what sort of bruises Shita would come home with next, and how bad the other guy's would be. Then again, all of us used to come home with scrapes and black eyes all the time, but normal, and all before… they… uh," Tsume swallowed. "Died."

Hana returned the book to this place on the shelf and sat down next to her mom again. She let Tsume take a breath and didn't mind the awkward pause before she said anything. "What else can you tell me about the stuff here?"

Tsume bit her lip and looked around the room. "Maybe? Aha! You there! Freeze!"

A chunin- the guy called Katsuya, stilled. "I-Is there something wrong? D-did I do something?"

"No, just pull out the bigass scroll tucked in the closet and roll it on over here," Tsume said, cosking her head to the side. "You can do that without breaking anything else, can't you?"

"Y-yes, Inuzuka-dono!" The guy did as he was told and scampered across the room, carefully sidestepping his other nin as they picked up the delicate urn shards on the floor. When he finally hefted the scroll off his shoulders, it landed on the carpet in front of them with a deep thud. "This one, correct?"

Tsume waved him off and sat up in her chair, eyeing Hana. "You wanna open it?"

Hana looked at the thing- twice her size and just about as thick. "It won't eat me first?"

"I mean, you want a straight answer?" Tsume grinned. "Just channel a bit of chakra into your fingernails and break the tape keeping it shut. It'll do the rest itself."

"O-okay?" Hana winced when her fingernails grew just a little bit longer, nastier, and pointer as she force-fed each digit a bit of chakra. She held them up for her mother to see from her chair. "How's this?"

"Like claws." Tsume's grin grew wider. "I'm proud of you kid, you take after your old lady after all."

Hana raised an eyebrow at her, her long-tipped nails by her side catching her sweater. "Excuse me?"

In a flash, the ends of Tsume's fingers were sharp and long, and she looked like she was holding in a chuckle when Hana gawked at her. "Claws are easy. I've been able to make them since I was in diapers- what do you think I'm named after, kid?"

Hana grimaced, looking down at her own hands. "Mine look nasty though… and they catch on everything."

"That's why you gotta carry a nail file on your shuriken pouch, like, all the time," Tsume said nonchalantly, sitting back in her chair. She started picking at the dirt under her pinkie nail absentmindedly. "That, and dog treats. I'd suggest a dog whistle too, for whenever you lose the Haimaru brothers."

Hana grimaced. "That might actually save my life one of these days. I'll add it to my list of things to stock up on, thanks."

"Anyway? Open the scroll, stop stalling," Tsume said excitedly, as Kuromaru padded up next to her with a nail clipper in his mouth. He left it down on her lap, with a small amount of drool. She scratched him behind the ears and said, "Thanks bud."

"If you're going to show off, at least have enough sense to carry the right equipment to deal with it," he grumbled, though his tail wagged slightly when when she kept scratching. "Pregnancy impairs your mobility. The sooner the second pup comes, I won't have to play fetch with you any more."

"Oh, come on, you used to live for fetch," Tsume shot back.

Kuromaru flattened his ears. "Not anymore, not when I get nothing given in return."

"What about my love and adoration?" Tsume whined, scratching him a little harder. "Isn't that worth something?"

Despite leaning into her hand, he remained resolute. His tail wagging harder despite his sullen mood. "When was the last time you even took me out for a walk?"

Tsume frowned and stop scratching him. "You're smarter than the _chunin_ over there- you know you can take your own walks."

Kuromaru sniffed. "It's not the same."

Hana sighed and tried to push them out of her mind as she faced the bigass scroll. The edges weren't painted, so she didn't have to worry about accidentally opening up a giant body scroll and dealing with That anytime soon. Red lined scrolls were described as critically important for missions, yellow were less so, blue usually meant it was some form of liquid, water poison, blood samples. Green lined scrolls were terrestrial matter, rocks and such, while white lined scrolls could mean anything to written papers and documents to an entirely blank sheet of paper meant to be filled later on. Purple was for only for the hokage to see, or the highest higher ups. The one that sat in front of Hana however, wasn't marked by anything. It wasn't even white- it was unpainted, the yellow tan stain of the parchment sitting tall and intimidating as ever, and Hana broke the tape seal on the front.

As it unfurled, she really regretted not having it lay down on floor, because there was a hell of a lot of swirly paper filling the space where she stood in a second.

Jumping away to where her mum and Kuromaru sat, she watched the thing until it ran out of paper and room, and only then, approached the end piece nearest to her.

The Hiragana written on it was old and… smelled kind of like varnish? The kind with a lot of alcohol in it. She ran her hands over the paper and found it to be coated in a layer of gloss to protect parts of it that looked worse for wear.

"Are these… names?" Hana asked, making sure to keep her claw-tipped fingers away from any parts of the paper in case it tore. She started at the top, working her way down as much as she could until she found a familiar name. "Is this the Nodo you told me about before?"

Tsume grimaced and scratched the back of her head. "Try like, three more Nodo's down. We aren't the, uh, best at coming up with new names in this family."

Kuromaru snorted. "That's an understatement."

Tsume ignored him and looked over Hana's shoulder. "Once you come across a Karadamaru, an Atama, you've found your grandparents. Mimimaru's somewhere after that- it's really all just a jumble of names in no particular order. There's a list of our direct ancestors somewhere on that scroll too, but hell if I know where it is now."

"So these are-" Hana pulled the paper closer when she finally found her grandfather's name, scratched in a messy, awkward scrawl. "-All of them? In some sort of list? Will my name ever be on it?"

"Well...um, yeah. Maybe some day," Tsume said woodenly, looking at the scroll with a intense stare. Her shoulders were set, and she didn't blink for a very long time.

Kuromaru padded up next to Hana and bumped his nose into her cheek. "It's a list of Inuzuka who went off to fight and never came back. It's written by those they leave behind, and kept by the clan leader in times of peace."

"Oh." Hana swallowed, feeling the weight of the paper in her hands, despite it not weighing anything. "That's…. uh. Wow."

Tsume cleared her throat and looked at her feet. One hand absentmindedly flitted to her stomach, perhaps for reassurance. "Yeah. I kinda hate it. A lot."

Hana looked back down at the letters and names etched out before her. The names written were in different hands, often going in long patches by the same person for a long time. Sometimes there were one or two names in an unfamiliar scrawl, but for the longest time, long lengths that seemed to go on forever. War… really seemed to take absolutely everything in it's wake, didn't it? There had to be hundreds, maybe a thousand and more names written here. It was like her own family memorial stone.

"Can we keep this out of the closet for a while?" Hana asked, stepping around the loose rings of paper to get to the centre and start rolling it up again. "I want to see more later."

Tsume sighed and shrugged one shoulder at her. "Sure, I guess? As long as you keep it in your room and get someone to carry it in later. Hasuki's delivering something to the academy, whatever it is, so-"

One of the chunin bounded over to her side without even having her call him over. "Yes?"

Tsume pinched the bridge of her nose. "Just… help my kid get that scroll into her room, can you? And then get out of my house."

"But we haven't yet found-"

"I don't care. Come back when nobody's around and I've idiot-proofed the closets and taken out anything else you might break." Tsume leaned over and grabbed her fruity drink again, taking a sip. "Chop-chop, the Hokage's not paying you to stand around invading my privacy, now is he?"

"He's not paying us at all…" the young man sighed, pacing over to Hana's side. He looked down at her and gently grasped the scroll with both hands when Hana finished. "Do you have it all sealed up?"

Hana uselessly gestured with her too-sharp nails. "To the best of my ability?" she winced as he picked it up, hearing the joints pop in his legs. "Good luck."

"Maybe this is our ancestors coming back earlier than I thought to punish you," Tsume said aloud, as the poor man struggled to get past his comrades and fit it into the hallway.

Kuromaru shook his head when the man got caught by Hana's too-small door frame. "Are you certain that's the one who dropped the urn in the first place?"

"They all kinda look the same to me," she said, shrugging. She took another sip from her drink, watching the man's back muscles tense, as he lugged the paper scroll away. "It's good to have a couple lackeys around. Besides, it's fun to watch them work."

Kuromaru noted her little smirk at the man's heavy lifting, and he shook his head. "You're terrible."

"Hey, I didn't say anything," she defended. Her smile remained, however. "And really, are you going to chastise me for looking at another man? I'm not going to mourn the loss of Tatsuo forever. I can have _fun_."

Her ninken sighed, sitting down by her feet. "Yes, Tusme, you can have a bit of fun, at least." His ears flattened against his head, however. "Just please promise me not to bring anyone home for at least two more decades. The last one was a _plight._ Have some taste."

Tsume rolled her eyes. "Please, I'm the most tasteful person in the world."

"Tsume."

She snickered. "Okay, the last one was an outlier."

"Tsume."

"Give me a little credit!"

"I will beg, if you don't promise me."

That startled a laugh out of her, and she scratched her partner behind the ears again. "Okay, okay! I promise!"

 **X**

 **End of Chapter 20~**

Thanks everyone for being so patient! This was a filler chapter, but I had certain things that just /had/ to be put in at the end. Specifically, Shisui's introduction (finally, thank god, it's been too long) and the names for Hana's uncles and grandparents! Maybe sometime I'll write a chapter where Tsume and her fam are livin it up in her childhood, since her being happy is like, 100% My Aesthetic, but alas…. Maybe in an interlude between arks sometime….

Thanks for reading! I have the next chapter pre-written and mostly ready to go, I hope youre looking forward to another main character showing up who's due preeeetty soon. Tell me what you think?! :D

See you~! (space cowboy)


	21. Chapter 21 - Oh Brother

**AN:** I'm so glad…. Im honestly…. So glad… we're finally here. It's been 200 years for me, but we're finally… at the chapter…. I've been waiting for…. All my life…..I hope you guys have fun with this as much as i did while writing it (back in april, last year. I've been sitting on this chapter for Far Too Long).

But first, have some lil' scenes with the kids, because I like writing them.

 **Words:** **6238**

 **X**

 **Chapter 21: Oh Brother**

 **X**

Hana hummed, a warm breeze ruffling her long hair as she sat atop the roof of the academy, a long paper scroll resting on her lap while the rest of her class played ninja down below her.

For the next couple months, life resumed as normal. School was just as easy as it ever was, she didn't learn anything new, besides more chakra theory; which she could research on her own time. She was still one of the youngest people in the class, competing against physically older kids, which was a challenge, and she didn't have the same kinda respect as an adult would, which still ground her gears. Half the class tolerated her existence and the other half- probably the one that was part of her camping group- occasionally came to her for help on drawing projects, or for adult advice, which was kind of weird, but she had friends now. People she could talk to, who liked the things she said and enjoyed her company. It was nice. It was grounding. It helped Hana feel like she wasn't actually own her own all the time.

"Hey, freak! Recess is over, get off the roof!"

Hana sighed and started scaling down the side of the building, tucking her reading material into jacket pocket. The downside of having her shit together during the camping trip meant that Tenma had adopted a new towards her. It was fine, honestly. It wasn't like she was being bullied, and he had crossed Itachi off his hit-list, so she could deal with a couple rude names from time to time.

 _It wasn't like he was wrong or anything_ , she _was_ kind of a freak, all things considered...

"Don't call her a freak, you jerk! She's just reading her scroll," Izumi huffed, coming up next to Hana once she detached herself from the building. The Uchiha put her hands on her hips, and curled her lip at Tenma. "Honestly, what's your problem these days?"

Tenma bristled, looking down at the other girl. "Nomura-sensei told me to call her in. What's it matter to _you_ if I call her names?"

Hana groaned "Guys, it _really_ doesn't matter-"

"Wh-What's it to _me?_ " Izumi said incredulously. "How would you like it if I insulted one of your friends? You want me to take shots on Umino-san and his glasses? Or Eji for not being able to read?"

Tenma's face reddened. "Hey, Don't bring them into this! Eji and Umino-san are my _best friends,_ you…. you _-!_ " He snapped his mouth shut and turned away. "Whatever, I don't care. Go butt your nose into someone else's business, _Princess_."

Izumi gasped and watched as he shoved his hands into his pockets and walked inside. "What was that about?"

Hana shrugged and motioned for the girl to come inside with her. "It's fine, really. Maybe something I did rubbed him the wrong way. It's okay if he doesn't like me."

"B-But…" Izumi frowned. "Didn't you apologize to him? Why does he still have to be so _rude._ "

"Sometimes people just act rude? I dunno." Hana shot the older girl a little smile as they entered their classroom. "Thanks for sticking up for me, by the way. I really appreciate it."

Izumi puffed out her chest a little, in pride. "W-well, I mean, I was just doing what I had to. Protecting the youth. Defending the helpless from the forces of evil."

Hana snickered. "Well, you did a good job. Wonder Woman would be proud."

Izumi blinked at her. "Whats a wonder woman?"

"Uh," Hana paused. "Think, Tsunade? Only with dark hair like you, and, uh, paler."

"Oh," Izumi cocked her head to the side. "Sweet!"

Nomura sensei eyes them both and gestured for them to take their seats before she started back up on her previous lecture on mathematics. Or, specifically, basic, rudimentary multiplication. Hana could see the devil and it was in the form of the seven times table. Maybe if she ignored what was going on hard enough, she could skip this entire portion of their class time.

Fu, sitting next to her, took lazy notes and mostly tried to ignore the Haimaru brother nipping at his ankles. For a while, his discomfort satisfied her, but then her ninken moved on and then she was out of entertainment.

After an hour of lecturing, her forehead glued to her desk, Hana was struggling to keep both eyes open, and had decided to make her endless classroom suffering into a chakra exercise. It was the only was she would ever stay focused while everyone else was taking notes, to be honest. Plus, if she ended up using too much chakra, there was the added bonus that she could black out, and she would take anything over this endless lecturing. Anything. She even missed the woods compared to the multiplication tables. At least then she was out of her _goddamn desk_.

Sending a little burst of chakra into her cuticle, she started scratching the wood panelling of her desk with her sharp fingernail, because why not? Nomura-sensei was drilling some poor kid on how to do long division by making him repeat an acronym. Hana didnt care.

A couple minutes later, she found herself scratching little images of the Haimaru brothers into her desk, and smirked to herself when she added kuromaru with his eyepatch. _Good, now who else?_

Fu cleared his throat, side-eying her from his seat. "You know, Nomura-sensei wouldn't be happy if she caught you defacing school property. I'd hate to rat you out, you know."

Hana rolled her eyes and blew away some of the sawdust built up from her scratchings. "Do you think I should add another dog, or is four too many?"

"I think," He said, reaching over with his pencil in hand. "You should draw a bear."

Hana stilled. "And why is that?"

He ignored her and quickly scribbled out the kanji for 'grizzly' in her abandoned notebook. "Don't you get tired of drawing nothing but dogs all the time?"

"No," Hana said seriously. "Never. And draw in your own notebook- that one is mine."

"Suit yourself," Fu shrugged, turning back to his own paper. "But don't come crying to me when the teacher makes you sand down your desk after class."

Hana looked at him. "You sounds like you're speaking from experience."

"Me? No, _never._ " Fu tossed his ponytail over his shoulder. "You must have me confused for some other Yamanaka."

"Right, some other Yamanaka who's been caught cheating on tests, and being generally unpleasant," Hana scoffed. "I'll be sure to look out for them."

Fu shrugged one shoulder and propped his head up with one hand, feigning interest when Nomura-sensei walked by and continued talking. After a moment, he turned his head back towards hana. "Hey, Is Tenma giving you trouble now?"

"Not really," Hana muttered, sitting back in her chair. She waved at the teacher when Nomura-sensei looked at her, and put her notebook overtop the scratches she made in the desk. "I'm just glad he's leaving Itachi alone."

"Hm. You _would_ ," Fu hummed, watching the teacher with a significant amount of boredom that hana mirrored in her _soul_. God, classroom lectures killed her. "If he tries _anything_ -"

Hana snorted, catching him off guard. "You'll what? Defend me? Please. I can handle myself, _flower boy._ Have a little more faith in me."

Fu scowled at her, his face colouring. "I was _going_ to say, try to hit him somewhere he won't bruise. Have a little more faith in _me_ , Inuzuka."

Hana rolled her eyes. "Of course, I should've known. Do you think I should drag Tenma into a back alley first? Or should I go all _covert ops_ on him and knife him in his bed while he's still sleeping?"

Fu coughed loudly into his hand. "I mean, when has going covert operations on someone ever failed?"

"All the time. Every time. If school has taught me anything, it's that murder is not the solution."

He gave her a deadpan stare. "Actually, I think if you followed the classroom assignments like a _normal person_ you would notice that murder _is_ the solution. In fact, our studies actively encourage it."

Hana scoffed at him. "As if anyone would catch _these hands_ killing someone. Not me, not today. Not ever."

"It's a sad day when a would-be assassin makes a vow of pacifism," Fu commented. "Think you'll stick to your morals after your first B-rank?"

"Who do you think I am, punk?" Hana shot him a dismissive smile. "Do you take me for the kind of person who goes back on their word?"

"Yes," He said, giving her the side-eye once again. "But it might be interesting to see what you do once we graduate."

"If we graduate," Hana sighed, watching the teacher pace about the room. "How much longer until class it out, again?"

"Two more hours."

"Just kill me instead."

X

"Okay so just like, throw yourself across the lawn. It's okay if you fall, I'll catch you. It's easy!"

Hana threw her jacket on the ground and shot Hasuki an incredulous look. "You think this is easy? _You_ throw yourself across lawn. I'd like to see _you_ eat turf before _I do_."

From the deck, Tsume raised her bare foot in the air, as if she were cheering them on from her folding chair. "Come on, someone do something! I didn't drag myself out here for nothing, did I? Where's the entertainment?"

"They just started, don't you think you could be a little patient?" Kuromaru asked, by her side.

Tsume pouted at him. "I'm nine months pregnant, and you're asking me to be patient?" She cupped her hands around her mouth and hollered, " _Somebody eat dirt already_!"

"Thanks for the vote of confidence mum!" Hana shot back, giving her a sarcastic little thumbs up. Next to her, Hasuki groaned and took off his jacket, neatly folding it and setting it on the ground.

A spare mattress, that tsume had savaged from god knows where, sat propped up on two trees in front of them, standing as their target.

Hana really didn't want to throw herself at that thing. She could catch _fleas_ or something.

"Uh, age before beauty?" Hana said to Hasuki, gesturing for him to go first.

Hasuki narrowed his eyes at her. "Okay, but only because I've actually done this before. Not because you just called me old."

"Twenty isn't that old though..."

Kuromaru cleared his throat. "It is in dog years."

"You're telling me!" Tsume called from from the deck. "Death's knocking on your door Hasuki! Who know's how much time you have left! Are those crows feet I see?"

"Tsume-sama, please!" Hasuki whined. "They aren't wrinkles, I'm just stressed!"

"Doing what," Asked kuromaru, in a flat voice. "You haven't done anything with our life."

Hasuki made an awful choking sound while Tsume cackled, her smile wicked and toothy.

Hana stifled her laughter on the palm of her hand. "G-guys, that's going a little overboard don't you think?"

Tsume shrugged one shoulder. "I only have so many ways to entertain myself, kid."

"Nobody in this family appreciates me," Hasuki said mournfully, as he turned towards the mattress. He squared his shoulders and cracked his knuckles, preparing himself for the eventual leap forward. "So, Hana, watch, okay? What you want to do is twist while run, and then propel yourself forward. It'd be best to try standing up first before going on your hands and feet, just because it's easier-"

"Hey, Hasuki!" Tsume called from the deck, her hands cupped around her mouth again. "If you nail it on the first try, that mattress is yours and you won't have to sleep on the couch anymore."

He whipped his head back and stared at Tsume with wide, saucer-like eyes. "Do you really mean that?"

"I mean, I think you've earned it by now," Tsume muttered, rubbing the back of her head. "After freeloading for seven years, I might as well cut you a break _eventually_."

"T-thank you!" He gushed, a hand over his heart. "That means so much coming from you, Tsume-sama!"

Kuromaru shook his head. "She's only saying it because she misses her late night movie marathons. Your snoring gets in the way-"

Tsume put a hand over his mouth to shut him up. "You know, sometimes dogs really shouldn't talk sometimes."

Hana shook her head and watched as her cousin stared down the old mattress. "Do you have to say the words for the jutsu, or like, do you just go for it? Does it even matter?"

"It depends on the person," Hasuki said, shrugging one shoulder. He took a couple steps back, and readied himself. "If it means I'll be able to pull this off after nearly a decade of no training, I'll say it. I really want a bed again."

(Hana made sure she got a good enough view when he inevitably ate dirt.)

"Okay-" Hasuki breathed, flooding his system with chakra, he signed a few handsigns, most notably being _dog_ , and lunged-

Twisting a second before his feet left the ground,

The air rippling around him as he travelled-

" _Tunnelling Fang-!_ "

And he bounced off the mattress like it was nothing.

His fingernails tearing thin shreds of the fabric loose, but otherwise, he landed on his ass a moment later.

He winced, holding his spine in pain. "And that's why…. You always remember your footing… Hana-chan."

Tsume whistled at him from her lawnchair. "Bravo! Bravo! Nine outta ten for the form, five for the dismount. Could be better, but that's a damn good single man's Fang Over Fang if I ever saw one."

Hana gently helped him up into a standing position. "Are you gonna be alright? Don't tell me you broke your butt."

"Me and my butt are _fine_ ," He hissed, hobbling over to the porch a second later like a little old man. "Just- go do the thing I just showed you. Stop looking at me like that- I'm old, _I get it._ "

"At least you've earned yourself a bed, finally," Tsume smirked, shooting him a thumbs up. The mattress didnt look too good honestly… Hana made a mental note to buy Hasuki a new one with her allowance when she had the chance. "Besides, don't come crying to be about a bit of back pain. Least I remind you…?" She gestured t her stomach with both hands.

"You're a saint, _we get it_." Hana called, sticking her tongue out at her mom after she got flipped off.

"Hey, brat, i brought you into this world and I can take you out!" Her mother shot back, sitting up in her chair. "Watch your mouth when you speak to your- _shit._ "

Hasuki looked up at Tusme, raising one eyebrow at her. "Uh, pardon, Tsume-sama?"

Tsume wiped the grimace off her face and waved a hand at him. "I'm fine. Continue on, I- _shit_. _Fuck_ -" her fingers gripped the handle of her lawnchair. "That's such a weird fucking feeling, _stop it._ " She hissed to herself.

"Uh," Hana padded up to the deck and watched her. "Stop what?"

"It's fine, I'm fine," Tsume said, reassuring her. She jerked her head towards the mattress. "Go prove yourself, pipsqueak, you aint gunna master the _Fang Over Fang_ otherwise."

Hana pouted and turned back to the mattress. "Right, sure, okay. Fang over fang. I can do that."

"Tsume-sama, are you sure you're okay? You're looking kind of pale."

Tsume shrugged one shoulder. "You don't have to worry, I'm fine."

"Are you sure? Do you want me to get you something?"

"It's just a couple contractions- I'm not dying, _Jeez_."

Hana and Hasuki froze.

"What."

Tsume looked at the both of them, before frowning. "You think that gives you an excuse to stop training? Hell no, get back to work, kid-"

"Please tell me you're joking-?"

"You think I would joke about training?"

X

Hana ducked under the arm of an attending doctor before having to dive to the side, just in time to miss a man in a wheelchair rolling out of a room, his foot in a giant heavy cast.

"Sorry!" She accidentally bumped into a woman on crutches, having to right herself and catch the poor woman before they fell on an elderly couple, dragging a pair of IVs behind them. "Damnit- whoops!"

"Watch where you're going!"

Hana pumped a bit of chakra into her legs so she could hop over a gurney being rolled in by a couple nurses, and even after sticking the landing, Hana kept on running down the hallway, intent on making it to the maternal ward.

Goddamnit, why did Hana have to be late to the one event she was looking forward to? Camping trips aside, she had known Kiba had been coming for years now, and she just so happened to get pulled away by by a medic when she tried to bring the haimaru brothers with her. How was she supposed to know there was a strict no-ninken policy in the hospital? People were supposed to love dogs! It was tragic and cruel to see Kuromaru wait outside with her ninken while Tsume got whisked away in a wheelchair and she got stuck listening to a very disgruntled man who obviously cared too much about his job to let a girl bring her puppies inside. What kind of person hated puppies?

 _Now, which way was the maternal ward?_ Hana skidded to a stop at the main office. Again. She had gone in a goddamn circle.

Had Tsume been lead down a hallway with blue tape, or yellow tape?

Hana had no idea. Konoha General Hospital was a wash of bright fluorescent light and antiseptic, and her nose was useless sniffing out scents. It was all sterilized- god, why did she have to be in a hospital again? They were the goddamn worst, and way too busy for Hana to hunt her mother down.

So she was forced to do the unthinkable: ask someone for help.

 _Eugh. Her nerves already felt jumpy just thinking about it. Social Anxiety, could you please take a backseat today? Just one day. That's all._

Hana stood up on her tippy toes to reach the little bell perched on top the main desk. _Ding!_

"Um, excuse me?"

The old nurse leaned forward in her chair, her glasses slipping down her nose. "Yes honey? Something wrong?"

Hana had to hold onto the top of the desk just to look her in the eyes. "I'm looking for my mom- what room is Tsume Inuzuka staying in?"

The nurse made a distasteful face. "Room two thirty one, down the yellow hall to your left." Recognition flashed in her eyes, and she took a better look at Hana. "Wait… are you her daugher? _I've heard stories about you_ -"

"Thanks," Hana said, letting go of the desk and quickly padded down the hall. She didn't have time for social pleasantries.

 _Yellow, obviously Tsume went down the yellow hallway!_

Not five minutes later, Hana came across a distraught Hasuki nervously turning the door handle to what Hana assumed was Tsume's hospital room.

He jumped when he saw her get close. "Hana! You're here- Tsume's changing, and I- I'm waiting. Out here. For the doctors to say it's okay to come in."

Hana watched him turn the knob again, pawing at the door like a lost puppy. "That's… adorable…"

Hasuki shook his head, ignoring her comment. "I'm worried- this is all happening so fast, something could be wrong, what are we going to do?!"

Hana put her hand on Hasuki's arm, and he gratefully looked down at her, looking for support.

Instead, she fixed him with a tired stare. "Dude, chill."

Hasuki backed away from the door, holding up both his hands. "No, no, it's fine. I can do chill. I'm chill. Calm, it's fine. Thank you, actually, for the advice. I was so chill before I didn't realize-" He started pacing. "Is it hot in here? I feel like it's getting hotter in here. Is Tsume-sama okay? Do you think I should speak to someone and ask them to lower the temperature?"

Hana dragged a hand over her face. "You know, freaking out like this is only going to stress her out even more."

Hasuki stopped dead in his tracks. "I could be… stressing out Tsume-sama?"

"Yes," Hana nodded her head and gestured for him to sit down. "Tsume isn't some immovable object, you know. Just because she isn't flying off the handle, _like some people_ , doesnt mean she isn't freaking out on the inside."

Hasuki started biting his nails. "What have I done? What if I've made this all the more difficult for her? I couldn't live with myself if something goes _wrong_ -"

Hana smacked his hand away from his mouth. "Quit that. It's not your fault you're a basket case all the time. I'm assuming it's because you have a lot of _feelings_ , right?" Hasuki numbly shook his head, and Hana smacked him again. "Stop that too. Just stop everything. Stop breathing so loud. Focus on being calm- can you do that?"

"Calm," Hasuki repeated. "Yeah, I think I can try."

"Good, hold on a sec." Hana strode over to Tsume's door and knocked. "Are we allowed in yet?"

A pretty blonde doctor opened the door. "Ye- oh, are you her daughter?" Hana nodded, and the doctor's eyes widened. "I knew it, I was the one who delivered you seven years ago! Wow, you've gotten big..."

Hana pushed the door open with her foot, completely ignoring whatever the doctor was saying. Again, social pleasantries be damned. She wanted to know if her mom was okay. "Is that so? Uh huh?"

"-I mean, last time there was a lot going on, with a wolf and a teenager-" The doctor looked up from Hana and glanced at Hasuki. "Oh, I see he's with you. Hello, Hasuki-san."

"Afternoon, Maikomo-san," Hasuki nodded, following Hana into the delivery room. "E-Everything going according to plan, I hope?"

"This time," Doctor Maikomo said, sighing. "At least I got security to keep Kuromaru-san outside. You wouldn't _believe_ how long it took to get the hospital clean after his last visit." She smiled then, looking at Tsume, who was dressed in a fresh gown and housecaot. "This time it'll be smooth sailing, right Tsume-san?"

Tsume stood in her hospital room, playing with the hem of her plastic smock. "Yeah, about that… I want a C-section."

Hasuki stared at her. "What?"

"P-pardon?" Doctor Maikomo held up her chart. "Tsume-san, it's written in your chart that you'll be having your child without the need of surgery-"

"I'd rather have a C-section," Tsume repeated, much to the chagrin of the doctor. "One measly scar is more desirable than a bunch of strangers looking up my legs for six hours. I want my privacy, and I want you to cut me open," Tsume said. Hana fixed her mother with an expectant stare, raising her eyebrow at the woman for her demanding tone of voice. Tsume sighed. "Please?"

Doctor Maikomo ran a hand through her hair. "I… suppose you won't be convinced otherwise?"

"I'm glad we have this friendship, Maikomo-san." Tsume pointed a finger at Hasuki, who was clutching his chest and battling over the wave of new anxiety that hit him. "You-! get me a wheelchair, make it snappy."

Hasuki was already speeding out the door. "Right away, Tsume-sama!"

Tsume gestured for Hana to come closer. "Take my arm. I don't actually need a wheelchair."

Hana fixed her mother with an unimpressed stare. "You're _really_ doing this? Mum, I cant beleive you."

Tsume shrugged her shoulders. "I didn't need privacy to get changed either- Hasuki's such a ball of feelings all the time, I need to give him useless tasks so he doesn't get on my nerves."

Hana sighed, helping Tsume out of her bed. She wasn't… entirely wrong with that statement..

Ah, well. At least Hasuki felt like he was helping.

X

Personally, getting cut open was much more desirable in Hana's eyes than pushing out a kid while everyone watched. A C-section was cleaner too- more blood perhaps, but there was no sweat or afterbirth, it was easier. Nicer. Much _less_ hectic.

It didn't make the miracle of childbirth seem any less terrifying. In fact, being an active witness to her brother's way into the world made Hana all the more resistant to the idea of having kids herself. She was still half expecting Kiba to pop right out of Tsume like an Alien Chest-burster or something. Pregnancy was freaking _Terrifying._

"Hana, can you see my insides yet? Look in the mirror- look, look, come on, get on your toes and see Mummy's organs."

At least her mom was also heavily medicated, which was a bonus.

Hasukī made a pained noise. Hana couldn't quite see his face, since he was covering her eyes, but he wasn't quite appreciating her mom's humour. "Tsume-sama, please, that's not how this operation works, and you're going to scare Hana-"

"Don't be such a wuss- this is fine. I know exactly what's going to happen, and besides, when's the next time I'm ever going to see my _spleen_ again? Hana, when the doctors are done, you should get your sketchbook and draw this."

"I would, if my eyes weren't covered." Hana muttered, crossing her arms over her chest. She was wearing a synthetic smock that covered every inch of her, with little plastic booties over her shoes and white doctor gloves that smelled like sterilized baby powder. Hasukī had them on too- and the plastic felt weird against her face as he tried to keep her from seeing too much. It didn't quite work though, because Hana could still hear everything.

"Oh, OH- I think I could feel that." Tsume exclaimed, before the sound of something wet being cut could be heard. Hana felt Hasukī shiver.

"Tsume-sama, you're paralyzed from the chest down. You didn't feel anything."

"Damn _right_ I didn't," Tsume smirked, her eyes twinkling under the fluorescent light of the operating room. "This is the best trip i've ever had in my life- who the hell needs morphine?"

"Aren't you on morphine now?" Hana asked, trying to peek through Hasuki's hands.

"I'm on cloud nine, kiddo. I'm floating in the tropical seas of Wave country, I'm taking the best spa day of my _life_ -"

"You're having a C-section at eleven o'clock at night," Hasuki murmured, as the sounds of the doctors scurrying around the room could be heard. "Please, try to keep it together. Think of the children."

Tsume squinted at him. "Kid, what do you think I'm doing right now? I couldn't be thinking about the children any _less._ "

There was a sheet separating family from the actual operation, keeping everyone from actually seeing Tsume getting cut open, but Hana still had her imagination. And her other senses- really, Hasuki didn't even need to cover her eyes because there was nothing to see in the first place. Maybe he was just afraid she would look up at the little mirror her mother kept referring to- Why was it even there? Was this Tsume's doing, or was it a popular request from young mothers to watch as they got cut open?

"You know, you don't have to hold onto me so hard," Hana grumbled, clutching onto Hasuki's fingers and finally getting a good glimpse around her.

"I'm not doing it for _you_ ," he whispered, eyes fixed to the mirror in the roof. He turned incredibly pale as something else happened behind the sheets and nurses darted in and out of the room. "Good to know… my medical books were right..."

His hands clamped tighter onto Hana's head. "You know you can just hold my hand? I actually need my brain for things sometimes."

Tsume's head rolled to the side, probably the only thing she could control, and she gave Hana a dull stare. "He was like this last time too- don't take it personally. Men just aren't cut out for childbirth."

" _Cut out_ …" Hasuki murmured, eyes fixed to the ceiling mirror with a thousand mile stare. He couldn't seem to look away. " Oh my god, this is actually happening right now-!"

Tsume smirked, much more giddy than usual. ...Probably because of the morphine. Definitely because of the morphine. "Where's your wit now, medicine boy? I'm getting sliced open here, aren't _I_ supposed to be the one panicking?"

"Yeah, but you actually wanted this," Hana grumbled, trying to free her hair out of Hasuki's crushing fingers. "Hasuki's just along for the ride. You know he tried to convince me that pregnancy is supposed to be a wonderful experience while we waited outside while you were being prepped? It's goddamn _propaganda._ "

Tsume cackled, laugh lines creasing under her eyes. "You didn't believe him, did you? Oh _god!_ thats too much-" she snickered, her head bobbing on the operating table. "Only someone who hasn't recently had to carry a sack of flour for _nine months_ would say a thing like that. SeriouSLY-"

"Inuzuka-san, please calm down," a nurse said, patting Tsume's arm. "You're doing very well, but the doctors need you to keep still now."

"Okay, okay. Is this it then? The final stretch?" Tsume asked, raising an eyebrow. She turned her head towards Hana. "As soon as your brother or sister is born, I want you to run down to the cafeteria and grab me some coffee. I don't care what type, just do it before I pass out or something-"

"You're going to be _fine_ ," Hana murmured, clasping onto Tsume's hand, which was limp and slow to clasp onto hers. Warm, but not paralyzed. Hana traced the tiny scars on her mother's wrist with her thumb, trying to channel some sort of confidence in her. "And it's going to be a boy."

The mood had abruptly changed. Tsume's eyes softened, and her face grew serious. "You're betting on a little brother? I dunno, this one didn't kick _half_ as much."

"I was a delight," Hana muttered, glowering at Tsume's hand.

"You _are_ ," she said, in a rare moment of honest, drug-induced affection. "I was worried you'd grow up differently because you were kinda strange when you were younger, but I couldn't have been more wrong. You are _everything_ I could've asked for- I'm so glad I got you as my kid, Hana."

Hana sniffled and squeezed her mother's hand. "Thanks for looking out for me all these years, mum."

The nurse looking over the operation cleared her throat. "Okay, Inuzuka-san, I need you to brace yourself these next few seconds…"

"You heard that, Hasuki?" Tsume said, rolling her head to the side again to wink at him. "She told you to brace yourself."

A pair of nervous, crushing hands descended upon Hana's head.

"She didn't mean using my head!" Hana whined, losing sight of the world once more.

X

"You named me nose, and _he_ gets to be named fang? That's such a cool name! why do I have to suffer?"

Tsume stuck out her tongue. "If you don't like it, change your name when you move out."

Hana sulked in her chair across from Tsume's hospital bed. "That'll be years from now, I'll be too old to change it."

"Hopefully not too old." Tsume murmured, giving her daughter a look. "You _are_ planning on moving out sometime soon, right?"

"Mum, I'm seven."

Hasuki, who had been huddled in the corner of the room, pacifying a pink-faced infant, narrowed his eyes. "I'm starting to think you're not the only one, Hana-chan."

"Hey, can a seven year old make _that_?" Tsume said, gesturing to her newborn son.

Hasuki cringed. "Don't ask me that sort of question."

"I wanna seee my baby broootherrr, Hasukiiii~" Hana sang, scurrying over to her brother and looking down at him from his basket. "Show me Kiiiibaaaa~"

The hospital had supplied them with a fresh set of blankets to take home with them, along with a matching jumper and hat that he was currently wearing. Right above his heart was a tiny embroidered paw print, the only indication he was tied to a dog clan. It was… strange, to see his face clean of Inuzuka tattoos, but Hana guessed that that part came later. Maybe it was ceremonial? Still, it was unusual to see the baby as he was, knowing that he would grow up to look totally different.

As far as babies went, Kiba was round and pudgy. A solid eight pounds, four ounces, he was just a little above average weight. He was much prettier than most newborns, being a C-section baby after all. According to some of the nurses, newborn babies got a bit squished coming out. Nothing like Kiba though, his skin was a flushed pink, without a single blemish. Actually… his skin was really soft. Like, REALLY soft.

 _Holy shit, why hadn't anyone told her how soft baby skin was?_

"Hana, are you going pet your brother all day? Are you going to give him a treat next?" Tsume snickered from her bed. (The morphine was still in effect, apparently.)

"Do you want to hold him?" Hasuki said, gently pressing the little bundle into Hana's arms.

She pursed her lips, looking at Hasuki, to her mother, then back down at Kiba. "I might drop him though…"

"I'll make sure you won't," Hasuki assured, letting go of Kiba only when Hana had his head resting in the crook of her arm.

Kiba made a small sound of protest, but Hana's hands quickly fell into position to support his head and body. "He's… so tiny…"

"You were smaller when you were born," Hasuki smiled, making small cooing noises to calm the newborn down. Hana glanced at him. He really was good with kids- it was amazing.

The perfect mother hen to fill in for the void her dad left. Hasuki Inuzuka was an actual angel. They didn't deserve him.

Kiba's little hand wiggled out of his blanket, hitting his cheek. He blinked, shocked by the action.

"Hey there," Hana murmured, using her pinky to tug his hand away. "Thats your face, dummy, you don't wanna hit it."

Kiba made a tiny whining sound, trying to wiggle his hand free.

"I'm not gonna let you slap yourself again," Hana snorted, watching him intently. He was so helpless- he couldn't even control his own movements. She'd only ever known two other creatures as vulnerable as Kiba was, at this moment. Both of which were worlds away, and had long grown up by now. Still, Hana could still feel the same sort of pull she had felt towards her sister and her niece from her past life. The urge to protect, to shield.

There were so many memories attached to this tiny infant in her arms- Hana didn't know if she should feel bad for projecting an entire life onto a baby that hadn't even lived a single day yet. Kiba was more than just a character in a story, he was her little brother now.

 _Her little brother_. Ha, She could get used to saying that.

Still, she felt a pang of something painful in her heart when she remembered her past life, when she held her sibling like this, so long ago. How many years had it been since she last saw her baby sister's face? And now…

Now she looked down, and all she saw was Kiba.

Her little brother. Who she would protect above all else. Who she would die for.

He was family. Another string tied to her in a foreign new world. Keeping her grounded. Reminding her that she _belonged._

Hana had no idea how long she held Kiba for, in that little hospital room, late at night, but it wasn't a problem.

She had a little brother now. Being close to him was all that mattered.

And she realized, holding that tiny bundle in her arms, that she would do anything to keep him safe.

Anything.

 **X**

 **End of chapter 21~**

 **AN:** yess! Kiba time! I hope you guys liked this chapter, i had a lot of fun with Tsume while writing it. Protip: I'd advise against asking your parents for in-detail play by plays of your own birth. Speaking from personal experience, I don't think i can take back the hours my mom used up telling me about how ' _in the zone_ ' she was and how ' _her calming ocean cassettes really saved the day_ ' when me and my sister were born. Sometimes, writing with a reference at hand has Too Great a Personal Cost.

A...anyway… Thanks for reading! Next chapter is more little bro fun. Tell me what you thought of this chapter in the comments! Or if you just wanna lurk, put in an exclamation point (!) if you thought this chapter was neat. No pressure. I read all the cool input you guys send me anyway!

ciao!


	22. Chapter 22 - Sketchy Stuff

**AN:** Eyyy, Happy Birthday to Project Hana! I can't believe this story is a whole year old now, and I've stuck with it for so long! You know, for a story that started off as a personal dare for myself, to actually _commit to_ and work on until it's completion, this ain't half bad. In hindsight, maybe naming it 'Project Hana' as opposed to… anything more eloquent could've worked out, better… but this has been _my_ project for the year, and I'm proud of the 123 thousand words I've cranked out over that time. Thank you all for sticking with me until now! I don't know what I'd do without you 3

Anyway, here's some more Pure childhood fluff stuff. This… was super self-indulgent, but it's okay because the last we'll have for a lil while. Then the real fun begins ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)

 **Words:** **6,370**

 **X**

 **Chapter 22 - Sketchy Stuff**

 **X**

Itachi didn't know if he wanted to be a good son and stand by his mother's side, holding flowers, or _run._ Surely, Aunt Kushina could have chosen a more appropriate time to visit the Inuzuka residence? Hana had been away from school for several days now, and he knew it had to do with her new baby brother but, _really-_

By his side, Shisui shot him a reassuring smile. "Don't worry about it, I'm sure this is fine. Mikoto-sama said she's friends with the sitter, right?"

Kushina strode up to the door and rapped her knuckles against it. "Tsume-chan! Knock knock~!"

Itachi paled. Wasn't there supposed to be some sort of conduct for this? To allow a new mother her time to rest?

" _What-_ " the door was kicked open, and a frazzled, exhausted Tsume-san stood before them, a hand under her shirt and- _oh, was she breastfeeding?_ Itachi averted his eyes and buried his face in the roses his mother picked out for them. Shisui choked and covered his eyes. "- _do you want!?_ "

"Tsume-chan~!" Kushina sang again, clapping her hands together. It was as if she didn't see the snarling beast-woman in front of her, her eyes glossing over Tsume's wild hair and greasy, raccoon-eyed face. "Congratulations, ttebane! You're practically _glowing_."

Tsume grunted and, without closing the door behind her, padded into the house, baby still under her shirt.

Mikoto and Kushina traded a glance, Shisui awkwardly coughed into his hand, as Itachi carefully detached himself from the bundle of flowers in his arms. Eventually, both women took the open door as an invitation inside, and ushered Itachi, two hands on his back, guiding him in first as if his familiarity with the house would save him from any ill-tempered Inuzuka.

Following after them, Shisui suppressed a snicker. "Nice place," he commented, taking note of the cheap flower printed wallpaper and the welcome mat that said ' _Go Away.'_

"Uzumaki, Uchiha," Kuromaru said, padding up to the both as they took off their shoes. Somewhere, they could hear Tsume settle back down inside the house. Kuromaru shut his one good eye when newborn baby whimpering started up again. "These have been trying times, as you're most likely aware."

"Is there anything we could do?" Mikoto smiled gently by the door. "I know how hard it is to keep everything afloat after giving birth. With Tsume being a single parent and all…" Her hand absentmindedly touched her own stomach, nine months along. "I'd be happy to help in any way."

" _We_ would," Kushina answered, already slipping off her shoes. "Plus it'd be a good chance to reconnect! Its gotta be what, seven or more years since I last hung out with Tsume-chan?"

"Hana... is seven," Itachi said, quiet enough to miss. He looked away awkwardly when the adults indicated that they heard him. It wasn't hard to put two and two together.

Shisui pursed his lips and kicked off his sandals. "I take it she didn't feel like socializing a lot with a kid, huh?"

Kushina nodded. "Well, Tsume-chan kinda broke away from everyone else after her parents died. After that…?" She made a face.

"Something like that," Mikoto nodded.

Kuromaru bobbed his head- for what could be assumed for a doggish-shrug, and allowed them into the rest of the house.

"The more hands tending to the pup the better."

In the living room, Kushina suppressed her laughter. Behind her, she heard Mikoto openly gasp.

Saying that the house was a mess was an understatement- it was like someone had opened a storage seal, and proceeded to move everything around instead of put it back in. The couch was pushed to the wall, and several large mattresses lay out in the middle of the room, strewn with blankets and surrounded by China plates and empty drinks. It was like a _nest._ All of the mess was centred around a small patch of blankets atop a pile of pillows, with bottles and a dozen toys tucked around it.

Mikoto swallowed. "Oh… my."

On one of the futons, cradling her son, Tsume hissed at the new intruders. " _Shhhh-_! He's just finally-"

"M-m-muwaaaaahh!"

She hung her head and gently started rocking the child in her arms. With tired, dead eyes, she shot the two women a pleasing look. "Have either seen Hasuki? He went on a grocery run not too long ago and should be back soon."

"No such luck," Kushina said, carefully picking her way across the room. She crouched when she got close to Tsume, her eyes glued to the tiny fussing bundle in her arms. "Is that him-? He's so _small_."

"No, actually, it's one of the Haimaru brothers," Hana said, padding out from the bathroom with a big fluffy town around her shoulders. She nodded towards the two boys standing awkwardly in her living room. "Are you here to drag me back to school? At this point, I'll take it. I haven't slept in three days."

"Hana-San," Itachi said with a slight smile. "It's good to see you again."

Shisui rolled his eyes beside him. "He _means,_ " he elbowed Itachi in the side. "Congratulations on your new baby brother-!" He looked down at the younger boy. "Go on, give her the flowers."

Itachi blinked. "Oh, uh-"

"You should really give those to my mom- she did all the work, after all," Hana said, drying off her wet hair with one last towel-shake. "Then again, she got off pretty easy- the doctors did most of the heavy lifting."

"You wanna talk to me about heavy _lifting_ -?" Tsume said across the room. Kushina had Kiba in her arms and was gently rocking him back and forth. She looked like she was about to burst into tears at my moment. "Get back to me when you have to carry thirty pounds of baby for _nine months._ "

"I'll pass on that one, thanks." Hana suppressed a shudder.

"Was he really thirty pounds?" Itachi asked in amazement.

Shisui frowned, and tried to get a better look at the child across the room. "I think he'd be bigger if he was."

Hana rolled her eyes and motioned for the both of them to follow her over to her mom to get a better look. "Try guessing a bit lower."

"Fifteen pounds?" Asked Shisui.

Hana shook her head. "Nope! Lower."

"Ooooh, Mikoto look at his little haaaands~!" Kushina said, barely containing herself. Her lower lip trembled. "His fingernails are the tiniest things I've ever seen in my _life._ "

"Right?" Tsume sat hunched over next to her, smiling. "It's crazy! And it's weirder when he clutches onto me and refuses to let go. Kiba's hands are like a vice."

Mikoto sat down next to them. "He's beautiful, Tsume-san. Just perfect."

"He'll have all the girls swooning when he's older," kushina said dramatically, a hand to her forehead. "I can't wait to see what he's like when he grows up."

"Thirteen pounds," said Itachi.

"Nooope," Hana sing-songed.

Shisui narrowed his eyes. "Ten pounds."

"Getting waaaarmer~!"

"Seven?" Itachi asked.

Hana had a sly grin on her face. "Seven pounds, and _what?_ "

"Please, Hana-chan, take _mercy_ ," Shisui whined, clasping his hands together. "We're only two people, how are we supposed to know exactly?"

Hana stared at him. "Can't you tell with your sharingan?"

"I…" Shisui shared a look with Itachi, and then looked at Mikoto. "Can I?"

He closed his eyes for a moment, and straightened his back. A low, thrumming pulse of chakra emanated from him for a moment, before his eyes flew open again and his eyes shone red. A little smile spread out over his face as he peered at the little bundle in Kushina's arms. Kiba, in question, stared back, transfixed by the unnatural red in Shisui's eyes.

Tsume cleared her throat, jutting her head in between Shisui and Kiba's line fo sight. "If you try any Uchiha-genjutsu shit..." She narrowed her eyes at him, threateningly. "I'll feed you to my dogs. How do you think Kuromaru got so big?"

The ninken, in turn, lifted his head and stared at them all from across the room with his one yellow eye.

 _(Was it glowing, somehow, with malevolence? Or was Itachi seeing things. He wasn't going to ask.)_

"A healthy diet of human-flesh is encouraged to raise ninken with tough coats and sharp teeth," Kurmoaru said, his chest rumbling even from so far away. The only people who really fell for it, namely, Itachi and Shisui, straightened up. "I would suggest you do nothing to our new pup."

"Is that how the Haimaru brothers have gotten so big?" Mikoto mused aloud, completely unfazed by the protective attitude in the air. "I assumed Hasuki-san was feeding them a more hearty diet, but _really_?" She shook her head. " _Such_ a shame."

Hana shrugged one shoulder and let the towel hanging around her neck fall the the floor. "Hey, we have our clan traditions and you have yours. Right Itachi? Shisui?" She looked at them both, and she struggled not to laugh at their uneasy expressions. "Wait are you seriously buying this? Oh my _god._ "

Itachi caught on first. "You're joking," he said, clearly relieved.

"We _could be_ ," Tsume said, still staring Shisui in the eyes, daring him to pull something. A pretty gutsy move, considering the Sharingan was still spinning in his eyes. Tsume didn't seem phased. "Our ancestors have a long history, so really who knows if they ate human flesh."

Kushina gently bobbed Kiba in her arms, wincing when his tiny baby hands got caught in her hair and he started pulling. "This is a nice conversation topic." She cleared her throat, to indicate that no, it really wasn't, a pleasant conversation topic at all. Especially since the baby in her arms was less than a couple days old. She turned to look at Shisui. "Anyway, you wanted to do something?"

"Right," He murmured, pailing. "If I have the mother's blessing?"

"I don't doubt you for a second," Tsume said nonchalantly, sitting back in her chair.

Itachi's mouth pressed into a grim line. "Then what was all that for…?"

"A bit of fun," Hana said, elbowing in the side. "You would not believe how boring it is, staying home with the Tv off, taking care of a infant all day."

"Sounds like cabin fever," Mikoto said wisely, nodding her head. "I suppose you could do with a little entertainment. Go ahead, Shisui," she smiled.

"Right, well then." Shisui cleared his throat, and peered at the baby with his Sharingan still activated, tomatoe spinning around his pupil. "Seven pounds, three and a half ounces. He has five freckles on his left cheek, and later on I can confirm that Kiba-kun is going to be _cute_ when he's older. From the bone structure already evident on his face, to the facial markers under his eyes, chin, and on both relative's." He nodded, looking at both Hana and Tsume. "See? No tricky genjutsu on my behalf. Uchiha's honour." he made a criss cross motion over his heart, and then did did a little bow. Smile on his face when the older women clapped. "Now, if you want to see any other cool trick, or have any crossword puzzles around that need resolving in less than thirty seconds, I'm your guy-"

"Shisui is showing off…" Itachi muttered under his breath, glancing at Hana out of the corner of his eye.

"Oh come on, that was pretty neat." Shisui's smile was infectious. Hana had to bit her cheek to keep from laughing again. "And are you actually _pouting_? Careful, frowning that hard, it'll get stuck like that."

Itachi's scowl deepened. "No it won't."

"Aha! I spy with my magic eyes, some frown lines in your future if you don't stop _immediately_ ," Shisui said, clapping the younger Uchiha on the back. "How are you going to sweep girls off their feet if you have wrinkles all the way down to your chin in your twenties?"

"Oh _no-_ " Hana choked, but neither boys paid her much attention, misunderstanding the horror on her face for something completely hypothetical.

"I don't want to sweep anyone off their feet," Itachi said, looking at Shisui funny. "And how would having wrinkles change that?"

"You have so much to learn," the older boy said, shaking his head. A moment passed, before he smiled again and looked at the two of them with a gleam in his eyes. "Hey, so, wanna take me up on that sparring offer?" he said to Hana, the tomatoe in his eye spinning with excitement. "You and me vs Itachi? Or better yet- you and itachi gang up and try to best a graduated genin with the sharingan. Just try- i swear i won't let a win be easy."

Itachi looked interested, but the look on Hana's face said that they'd probably have to reschedule. "When i said I haven't slept in three days, I really meant it. I'm kinda beat."

"That's alright, you can show us around your house instead!" Shisui grinned, suddenly linking arms with her. His eyes no longer had the Sharingan in them, reverting back to a rich dark brown. "Right, Hana-chan?"

"Uh," Hana shared a glance with Itachi, who shrugged his shoulders and seemed a little interested in her house as well. She hadn't exactly given him a whole tour of her place whenever they trained- they mostly just hit each other out in the back and then went home. Besides the living room, which was in full view (and a total mess right now) and the bathroom (which she had to point out to guests, regardless) there were a couple rooms Itachi didn't know about. It could be entertaining? "Sure, why not."

She lead them out of the rats nest of a living room, bidding the women and Kiba goodbye for a moment, (itachi handed tsume his flowers, which was cute). Hana awkwardly gestured to her mother's room, the bathroom next door, and then the door next to it, which belonged to her, and listed off a couple explanations for the particular things in the hallways. Like the post which they used to measure her height, growing up, or the hole in the wall that the Haimaru brothers chewed. There were years of dog marks and scratches on the wood floor, and history that Hana only barely knew, now, but she did her best to be a good guide and share little bits about her house that she found interesting.

"It's not actually that big of a place," she said, recalling the long polished hallways and delicate paper walls of Itachi's house. Actually, she was surprised her house didn't seem dull and boring in comparison, in his eyes. Itachi seemed to listen to her talk about the time Tsume replaced all the tiles in the bathroom wall on a whim, and actually seem interested what she had to say. It was… a little weird. Compared to him, her family didn't exactly live the rich lifestyle. It barely had enough space for four humans and four _dogs_.

Hana easily opened the door to her mother's room, and gestured for the boys to follow behind her. "Mom took down most of the traps in here- or at least I think so. Before, I couldn't get in here without crawling on all fours and activating a couple seals, but it's all good now."

Itachi looked around worriedly. "Traps?"

"Don't worry about it," Hana said, shrugging it off. Whatever made her mom feel safe after returning to the war really didn't bother her.

The double bed was pushed into the corner of the room and was suspiciously missing the mattress (it was in the main part of the house) and all the bookshelves and plush chairs were pushed away from one corner of the bedroom, which sat suspiciously empty.

"What's supposed to go there?" Shisui asked, intrigued.

Hana raised an eyebrow at him. "Guess."

Ignoring the older boy's groan, Itachi said, "A crib?"

Hana clicked her tongue approvingly in response, and pat him on the back. Her parents had packed up and sold the crib she had used when she was a baby, and they had needed to buy a new one after it had become incredibly apparent that Kiba was going to need a place to sleep when he came along.

Something about the fact that it was _her dad_ who insisted on getting rid of her cradle struck a chord with her, but she brushed it off and showed them something else before she got caught up thinking about her _Tatsuo_ anymore.

(in her past life, her parents had kept every scrap and piece of her childhood and covered every part that reminded them of when she was a baby. Maybe their fear of throwing things with memories away was one of the reason why they were so much better parents that Tatsuo ended up being.)

"-I could go on about the different kinds of soaps in the bathroom but you both probably want to see my room, right?" Hana stared at the two boys and sighed when the both nodded. She sighed and kicked open her bedroom door, quickly stopping to pick up bits of laundry before the two of them followed in after her.

"I thought girl's rooms were supposed to be…cleaner?" Shisui watched her throw all her laundry into a corner, and start picking up books and pencils off of the ground. The floor was barely visible between the papers, rags and dog toys littered everywhere. The walls were hardly any better off- covered in posters of dogs and hastily drawn notes, with peeling pink paint behind it, slowly turning white with age. There were odd scratch marks in the drywall near her bed wich looked like received abuse regularly, and a desk covered in academic papers and textbooks thumbed through so much, the rabbit ears nearly doubled the thickness of the text inside.

The chaos and disorganization somehow seemed very… Hana, all things considered. A mess hidden behind a barricaded door, cleaned up and packed away the second someone ventured within.

Itachi bent down to pick up a book off the floor, reading the cover before handing it off to Hana to be shoved onto an already too-full shelf. "Do you need any help? Uh, cleaning?"

"No, no, I got this-" Hana waved a hand in his general direction before she decided on taking a better approach to cleaning- filling the room with clones to pick up after her as she watched them with amusement. "I need to do this more often."

"Because it's draining on your chakra resources?" Itachi said, giving her the side eye. He doesn't miss the drop in her reserves, and frowned at her. "You don't have to clean up for us, Hana-san."

"What? Nah it's _fine_ -" She unceremoniously threw herself onto the floor once the clones dispersed and the room was clean enough. Her eyes were a little unfocused, but she shook it off. "You wanna see some of the stuff I've been working on?" she asked as she started pulling two massive rolls of paper out from under her bed.

Shisui was already hovering over her shoulder. "What's in that one?" he pointed to the larger, more heavily packed roll of paper. It was more of a sandwich of various things all squished between the wrappings, but ten times more colourful and interesting than the other one.

"This?" Hana rolled out a couple feet, and awkwardly scratched the back of her head when she heard Shisui snicker. "It's, uh, my sketchbook. My _big_ one." She turned and looked at them both. "Are you sure you don't want to look at the other one? It has just and stuff in it."

Shisui shook his head. "Show us your sketchbook!"

She sighed, and flipped it over in her hand, starting to unravel it on the floor. The scroll was painted and sketched on with a collection of charcoal, ink and pencil markings, but the most striking part of it was the fact that someone, at some point, had dumped a pile of glitter all over. It was like a timeline- the farther Hana unravelled it, the more figures and animals came out, drawn in increasingly unsteady penmanship.

"Have you worked on this a lot?" Itachi asked, earnestly, as he gently held the edge of the paper in his hands.

There was kanji thrown in too- more the farther the scroll went back, repeating over and over again until it just looked like someone's attempt at writing _just right_ seemed to spiral out of control. There were little baby hand marks on the corners in ink, wich later grew and got bigger, before drawings of people showed up and started to bleed out of the margins of the paper and into the full scroll itself. In the form of complete disorganization, there were smaller papers taped and glued to the rest of the cross itself; some of which unstuck and fluttered to the ground as Hana pulled the scrolls across the room and back again, spreading across her carpet and taking up the entire space just as her messy laundry had.

It was something like a visual Diary of hers. And a record of the people and things that happened to her while she was just a baby with a bunch of crayons and a couple pieces of paper to her name. There were drawings of her family members there- (the ones from before, whose names she still coveted and whose faces she still dreamt about) -laid bare on her floor, for Shisui and Itachi to see, and something about that felt incredibly intimate and precarious.

Would they notice? Would they even care? There were so many faces and people thrown into the mess of her drawing scroll they all blended together but what if they asked who they were? What would she even say to explain?

(Her drawings was the one, pure thing she wanted to sustain from her past life. There wasn't any sarcastic, quippy thing in the world she could say to brush off just how important it was so her. Anything they said would immediately cut right to the core.)

"Hey, wait-" Shisui padded over to part of the scroll by Hana's foot, not quite noting how she suddenly tensed. "Is that supposed to be Itachi?" He gently freed the paper from the rest of the scroll, and held it up for the younger Uchiha to see. "It is! When did you make this? It's good!"

"I think-" Hana swallowed, and tried to calm herself down. She took the paper out of Shisui's hands and turned it over to look if she put a date on it. ( _he said it was good, right? Was that a good sign?_ ) "A little while after we first met?" She flipped the paper back over and handed it to Itachi to look at. "I'm not quite sure, sorry."

" _Oh,_ " he held it in his hands like a precious gift, careful not to tear of crinkle the paper. He looked like he was struggling to come up with something other than ' _thank you'_ , though the words seemed to dissatisfy him after he said it.

They both awkwardly shifted in place.

(Was that weird? Had Hhana made things weird just then? Was it weird for people to draw their friends? No. But if Hana had learned anything, was that she couldn't ever quite pinpoint exactly Itachi was thinking.)

"It looks just like the real thing!" Shisui said, clapping Hana on the back. "How much time did you spend on it?"

"Uh," she nervously glanced at Itachi, to the paper, and then down at her hands. "Maybe a couple hours? I don't know, I don't really remember." she bent down to pick up another picture, with Izumi's face on it. "I've make one for all the people I hang out with now, I guess."

"You know what this means, _right_?" Shisui's eyes shone, and he struck a little pose, the sunlight from her bedroom window striking him across his face in a way she immediately knew was intentional. "You gotta draw me next. It'd be criminal not to."

"Shisui," Itachi said, slightly exasperated. He held the portrait of himself to his chest. "You can't just order her to draw you like that."

Shisui clasped his hands together and looked up at Hana with his big doe eyes (or, looked down at her, since he was a good bit taller than her). " _Pretty_ please?"

"I was probably going to anyway, but-" Hana strode over to her desk and pulled out a fresh set of paper and grabbed a mechanical pencil. "Sure, I guess?"

"Aha! Yes!" Shisui pumped his fist in the air, ignoring the exasperated sigh from Itachi. "Try to get my good side, alright?"

Hana rolled her eyes and sat down on her bed, stifling her laugh when Itachi suggested she draw the back Shisui's head as his ' _good side_ '.

Now, if only she could channel some of that Inuzuka confidence she usually had. Maybe then she'd be able to keep her hands moving smoothly as she held her pencil.

Being an artist was _okay._ She could be good at it and not _feel bad_ , she reminded herself, though the words didn't really help much. She still felt awkward and vulnerable every time she glanced down at her paper, knowing fully well that both the boys were watching her with great interest in what she was doing. She didn't even know why it was weird for her- just that… it brought her back to the days when she was a nervous, idealistic art student. And now she was sketching people who once existed as drawings themselves. _How weird was that?_

Hana sighed and just tried to keep herself focused, trying not to think to hard on it. Having weaknesses were _strange._

X

"The bathroom's down the hall on the right, Kushina-san," Hasuki said, setting down the tray of tea in his hands on the small bedside table he dragged over. Sitting down on the mattress while the other three women sat on the couch, he calmly sipped his drink and pretended the house wasn't a disaster, and in fact, he was sitting in the middle of a gazebo dressed in anything other than his sweater and pajama pants.

Thankfully, the others pretended as well, which he was eternally thankful for, because _dear kami_ everything in their house was a mess. Being seen by guests like this killed something very weak and soft inside him.

(and if he was known for anything in his clan, it was for being soft.)

Unknown to Hasuki, however, it was one of the qualities that make Kushina take a liking to him in the first place, she mused, as she eased herself off the couch and down the hallway.

The Inuzuka was fun and _cute_ , and he had that lost-puppy look in his eyes whenever he looked at Mikoto, which was adorable in and of itself. In Kushina's opinion, the more people idolizing her best friend the better- and the fact that the Inuzuka knew how to pour a mean cup of tea only made him more of a _steal_. She was already trying to come up with ways to borrow him from Tsume later on when her own kid came around.

 _If it came around,_ Kushina sighed, rubbing her side absentmindedly as she padded down the hallway in her bare feet. Seven months pregnant and she both anticipated the arrival of her son (or daughter!) and dreaded it so much she made herself feel nauseous. Still! Potential assassination plot aside, she put it out of her mind and observed Tsume's house with a keen interest.

She wrinkled her nose at the height chart by the bathroom door, and poked her head into Tsume's bedroom to check out just exactly what kind of life her friend had gotten up to in the years they drifted apart.

"I can't believe Jiraiya-sama got his pervy little fingers into _her house_ as well," Kushina sighed, noting the Icha-Icha on her bedside table. She didn't even know they were selling copies of his second book in Konoha yet- but then again, if it was owned by an elite Jounin like Tsume, it wouldn't surprise her if the woman intervened and got it before it was released to the public.

Kushina shook her head and backed out of the room, deciding maybe it was better not to snoop when she was being treated as a guest, _and_ the fact that her hostess could probably smell her scent wherever she went.

 _Well, whatever. Being nosy was part of being a ninja, ttebane._

She was just in the middle of admiring a family photograph she 'found', tucked away in a hidden compartment of Tsume's drawing table, when Kushina heard someone shout in the next room over.

"Hana-chan you're a _magician!_!"

Kushina tucked the photo back into the dresser and whizzed over to Hana's bedroom, peeking through the crack in the door.

"Do that again so I can catch it with my Sharingan- please? Can I take this home and frame it?"

"I like how you drew the curls in his hair," Said Itachi- and now Kushina was fully creeping through the door now that her interest was piqued.

The three of them were surrounded by a nest of papers and drawings, and it took all of Kushina's Kunoichi grace not to crinkle everything as she crept up on them.

"Did you draw all of these?" Kushina asked aloud, making all three kids jump and scatter around the room like a bunch of startled animals. _Adorable,_ Kushina grinned, noting Hana's scarlet face and wide eyes.

"k-Kushina-! I didn't see you come in!" the brunette had her sketchbook pressed firmly to her chest, and she clutched her pencils tightly in her hand. Her eyes darted along the contents of the open scroll, and the colour of her cheeks deepened when Kushina caught sight of what she was looking at.

There were at least… five? Six- seven illustrations of Kushina sprawled out on the floor. She bent down to pick up the nearest- one with her hair tucked behind her ear, and looked back up at Hana with an eyebrow raised. "Should I be concerned?"

"N-no, I mean- I just. I just draw a lot. It's a hobby- I mean, uh, shit!" Hana covered her face with her sketchbook and shook her head. "I swear I didn't do it to be creepy I just reallylikeyourfaceandadmireeverythingaboutyou."

"You're kidding me right?" Kushina bent down and gathered another four or so drawings into her arms. "This is so _flattering_ -! Can I take some of these home to show to my husband? I don't think I've ever seen a picture of myself with hair looking _this good._ " She picked up a couple others- some of Mikoto, some of the Hokage himself, some of neat figures or doodles that she just thought looked cool. "Is it okay if I just borrow them? I can give them back later on-"

"-no! no it's fine, really, you can have them! I can always make more," Hana said, nervously laughing. She looked honestly relieved Kushina didn't find her drawings strange at all.

"You're already moving up in the art world, Hana-chan," Shisui grinned, his own portrait in his hands. He had his Sharingan activated again, and was looking at every detail of it with a critical eye. "One of these days I need to learn how to draw like this."

"I mean, all you need to do is practise. It's like any other Jutsu and training technique," She said weakly. Kushina got the impression that she seemed a bit uncomfortable with so much attention on her drawings.

"How about, we take this back to the living room, ttebane," the Uzumaki said, straightening up with a bundle of sketches tucked under her arm. She made sure not to bend them too much as she tiptoed over the massive drawing scroll rolled out everywhere. "Hasuki-kun brought sponge cake and biscuits from the store- If you don't act fact, they'll be gone before you know it."

" _Where?_ ," Itachi said hastily, with wide-eyed Shisui by his side. The second they got up and got to the door, Shisui had used a body-flicker to propel himself down the hallway and into the kitchen.

"That's not _fair-!"_ Itachi called after him, using his own chakra to try and catch up.

There was a clatter, and both Hana and Kushina prepared themselves for some sort of breaking or crashing noise.

Instead, they heard a dull thump of someone hitting the floor.

"Caught it! Nobody worry!"

Hana sighed. "I should probably make sure they don't end up making a mess. Or getting hurt."

As she made her way towards the door, Kushina made an effort to reach out and gently pat Hana on the head affectionately. "You have a gift Hana-chan, you don't have to feel bad for it."

Her eyes went wide, and a she squeaked out a pitiful " _T-thank you_ … _!_ " before running past her out into the hallway.

Kushina snorted and let her go. Honestly, kids like Hana needed to give themselves more credit.

(and if Hana hadn't already been on her list before, she had definitely been added to the list of people Kushina wanted to steal away for a while. She was just so dang _cute_.)

X

Kiba.

Was absolute perfection.

Just absolutely adorable. Hana could not bring up enough words to describe how much she wanted to pinch his cheeks and spend all her time with him and be the best sister ever and-

The few last days she had skipping school to help out with her mom and Hasuki, were probably the greatest and least hygienic days of her early life. She learned how to change a diaper extremely quick, and after nearly gagging and begging for death after her too-sensitive nose was exposed to Baby Smells, she got more used to it. She learned to carry scented hand sanitizer on her person at all times, if a moment came where she was stuck with him for a few short seconds and Kiba needed a change. She had _Learned Stuff._ Life stuff. It was kind of cool?

It wasn't often she found herself alone with her brother, despite the fact that Hasuki eventually made them all drag their beds back to their rooms and clean up the house, but since she insisted on hanging out near Kiba's crib, they had their alone time anyway. She got to hang out with him almost constantly, which was _amazing._

She was constantly in a state between loving babies, hating them for the sound and mess they made, and waiting impatiently for Kiba to grow up so they could be best buddies and actually have conversations together. It was a tough fight, and almost all the time she backed towns and looked for an adult for help when Kiba started crying, but everyone else was learning how to take care of kiba, so it didn't quite matter how inexperienced she was. This was a learning experience for everyone.

At some point (probably around, what, day seven of Kiba being alive? How crazy was that!) she found her old stuffed puppy that she had cuddled as an infant so many years ago. It was torn and chewed by the Haimaru brothers, but with a bit of patching up thanks to Hasuki and his sewing kit (she didn't even know he had one of those) and got him looking good as new.

She didn't tell Kiba about Puppy's love-hate relationship with the Haimaru brothers, or the fact that he had looked on with his button eyes as hana smashed their old TV and wept bitter sad tears into his fur every night for years, lost and confused about her transplant into another world. She also didn't tell kiba about the fact that puppy was an alcoholic, and that she had once stuffed him so full of glitter and crayons he still faintly smelled of wax and occasionally bled a stray sparkle or two. She simply dangled him above Kiba's reach and made little kissy noises when puppy's nose made contact with Kiba's cheeks, Grinning ear to ear when he reached out and grabbed onto puppy's floppy ears with enough strength to tear him away from Hana's grasp.

"Kiba, that's _stealing_ ," she said, wrinkling her nose at the baby, who just gurgled at her in a vacant infant sort of way. "Mark this as your first lesson- taking things without asking is bad. You understand?"

Kiba shoved almost half of Puppy's face into his mouth, and whined when Hana eventually pried the poor dog free.

"Okay, maybe I should make your first lesson about choking hazards." Hana frowned, holding the stuffy just out of Kiba's reach but close enough for it to be a bit of a game. She sighed, propping her elbow up on the edge of his crib. "You know, It's probably just me that ended up in this situation- and this is probably going to be the only time I have to vent out loud to another human being about this, but if you end up like me-"

 _like a human being from some other world or whatever messed up equivalent it was where Hana came from, forced to grow up again from birth. Who knows? What if it happened to other people? What if it ran in the family?_

"I just want you to know that it isn't always awful." She let Kiba's little arms wrap around the toy dog and gently guided it away from his mouth. "You don't get lonely after while. I have friends- and you, now- to keep me company. I'm sure you will too, later on when you grow older. It doesn't matter if I know their names already or not." she swallowed and looked away. "I'm not going to pretend it's perfect, but- _oh god_ I get worried, Kiba. What if i'm messing things up? What if I messed you up by telling Tatsuo I don't want him to stay around? What if you _really needed that_?"

Kiba blinked at her, uncomprehendingly.

"I'm talking to you like you have any idea what I'm saying," She said, laughing weakly. "Eugh, god, you don't need me unloading my anxiety onto you, you're seven days old, for gods sakes. You deserve a sister with her shit under control." She shook her head and pinched herself on the arm, as a punishment for swearing in front of him. "I mean, uh- sorry. You also deserve a sister who doesn't swear and ruins your impressionable baby-mind. I'm already starting off poorly."

"Kya?" a little bit of spittle leaked out of Kiba's mouth. She sighed and used the corner of her sweater to wipe it up.

"Speaking from experience," Hana said, picking up Puppy again and gently batting Kiba's forehead with his big droopy ears. "You've got a long while to go before anything I'm saying makes sense. I hope you have as much fun teething as I did."

Kiba made a sloppy gurgling sound and blew a raspberry, making Hana smirk a little.

"At least you've got your looks going for ya," She said, running her pinkie finger through his soft baby hair. "I hope you enjoy being cute and soft it while it lasts."

 **X**

 **End of chapter 22~**

AN: Again, happy birthday to Project Hana, and (a lesser) happy birthday to Kiba, who in-story is still fresh out of his box and adorable as hell. I'd put more babystuff in here but the Plot Requires me to push this story forward, and i am anxious to keep going. After a year, I'm getting a bit antsy to get to the Kyuubi attack, so I apologize! I have a Great Many Things Planned.

Tell me what you think in the comments what you thought of this chapter! I love you guys- the reviewers, the followers and faves, and those who lurk in the shadows. I see you, and ilu too 3


	23. Chapter 23 - The Calm

**AN:** You guys probably know by now that there's inconsistencies and some errors in my writing occasionally, and I'm thankful to those who point them out! There are times when It's only me looking over this story and occasionally i slip up. I just ask that you guys be patient with me, and feel free to point out any parts of the story that may need tweaking- by which i mean like, totally unintelligible lines or straight up problematic bits. This story is a work in progress, and I'm here in case anyone wants to PM about anything they found unintentionally hurtful or hard to read. Thank you!

 **Words: 6,350**

 **X**

 **Chapter 23 - The Calm**

 **X**

"Listen, this should have been brought to my desk the second I came into office. No, I understand the usefulness the program had during wartimes, and that Danzo-san is a trusted member of Konoha's forces-" Minato pinched the bridge of his nose and let out a steady breath of air through his teeth as he listened to the Third Hokage on the other end of the phone. As he heard Kushina come in through the door, he intentionally relaxed his shoulders so he wouldn't look tense and worry her. "I agree- we should speak in-person about this. Alright, okay. Yes, later around seven. Thank you, Sarutobi-sama."

"I see you're taking work home with you now," Kushina sighed, letting her coat fall on the one empty part of the couch not taken up by stacks of paper and classified documents. They were colour coated with black, red and orange tape to signify their importance, so Kushina knew this was probably one of Minato's more important work-binges and that escaping the clutter was futile. She raised an eyebrow at her husband, who sighed shook his head at the mess in defeat. "Do you need any help moving the rest of your office into our living room, or is this all of it? Somehow I feel like there's a whole lot more waiting around the corner."

"You're right," Minato said, burying his head in his arms as he slouched forward in his chair. The kitchen dining room table was stacked just as tightly with papers, and he had to do some quick maneuvering to keep a stack from falling on him as his head hit the table with a solid _thunk_. "I'm sorry- I've just been swamped with more security details with the village, and I thought it'd be easier to take some of it home with me." He glanced around the room with a tired eye, trying not to yawn. "It's not… that bad, is it?"

Kushina snorted, hefting the papers in her arms closer to her chest as she shook her head at him. "After the disaster I just came from, this place isn't half bad. Did you know Inuzuka have a nesting period? Well, not an actual one, but it sure seemed like it, _you know_?" She said idly, bending down to take off her shoes.

Minato blinked at her, waiting for her statement to make sense. He was too exhausted to piece any of that together. Half of what she said was drowned out by a long, drawn-out yawn. "You… pardon? Sorry, I haven't gotten much sleep lately."

"You and me both," Kushina muttered, her free hand absentmindedly flitting to her stomach. Neither of them needed to address the elephant in the room, aptly named ' _pending assassination attempt_ '. They had gone over plans of escape and attack nearl every week, with increasing frequency the closer Kushina's due date got. While they had some to the decision to carry on with life and act natural, Minato had poured all of his spare time into researching sealing techniques for the Kyuubi and investigating any possible leaks in Konoha's defences. They were covering all of their bases- Minato had spoken with the village elders, Hiruzen Sarutobi and Danzo Shimura were considering their options of attack and defence. They had even sent several messengers to Jiraiya asking for his assistance…

(He didn't reply. Which wasn't unheard of, since he was on a 'researching trip' last they heard, but… Kushina expected a little more from the toad sanin. Minato simply insisted that he would get back to them, _eventually._ She just didn't know how long 'eventually' would end up taking, to be honest.)

Regardless, the both of them were losing sleep at night with growing frequency. Kushina couldn't quite blame her husband for tuning out, especially since he looked so _tired._ As her free hand gently ran through his tousled blonde hair, she felt her gaze soften as she looked down at him. "Have you eaten dinner yet since you got home?"

His shoulders slumped a little more and he shut his eyes. "I… no. I haven't even had lunch, to be honest. Shikaku needed someone to oversee a bunch of new files brought in, and one thing led to another..." he slowly rubbed both temples with his hands. "I don't know how the third hasn't fallen over from exhaustion at this point."

"He probably has- he's just had a longer time to hide it." Kushina set the drawings she lifted from Hana's sketchbook on the table in front of him before she made off towards the kitchen. "Anyway, I can't have you starving to death nearly a year into office. How do you want your ramen- With pork or eggs? I'm in an egg mood, myself, but I know you're picky about what you eat..." he voice trailed off halfway through as she started rooting around in the fridge.

Minato didn't make a move to get up to follow her- taking the opportunity to rub the sleep out of his eyes and stretch. "Ramen shouldn't be our only dinner substitute 'Shina, it can't be healthy to eat nothing but noodles."

" _You knew_ the terms of our engagement before you married me," Kushina chided from the kitchen doorway. Her hair was already tied up in a tight red bun, an apron loosely draped around her seven month old baby bump and tied behind her with a little bow. "Really, i should be disappointed in you for thinking i'd have anything otherwise. It's the perfect food! Easy to make, easy to prepare…" She put one hand on her hip and looked at him expectantly. "Pork or eggs. Work with me here."

Minato knew better than to argue with her, and sighed. "Pork, I guess?" he straightened up in his chair. "Actually, wait- I should be the one cooking for you. Aren't you _tired_?"

"What, from this?" she gestured to her stomach. "I am a Jounin from Konohagakure. The Jinjuriki of the Nine-tailed fox, and the Red Hot-blooded Habanero. What makes you think I'd be tired after a little walking around _, ttebane_?"

"Alright, just… asking, honey. _Love you_." Minato kept his eyes on her until she went back into the kitchen, waiting until he was sure she couldn't hear him sigh again and sing back into his chair. He might have been the Hokage, and he loved his wife more than anything, but he did not know how to deal with a slighted pregnant woman. There were some battles he wasn't prepared on fighting.

Before he had the kitchen table completely cleared, the papers Kushina set down eventually caught his eye, and he unraveled a few just to check out exactly what they were. He didn't quite expect well-rendered portraits of his wife to look back at him, along with several other figures and sketches, some of which looked familiar and other looked downright odd. He set down the final sketch- that of an orange, spiral mask that he didn't recognize (or found very interesting, to be honest) when the phone rang again and dragged his attention elsewhere.

"Minato speaking. I- really...? What exactly happened? Are you _sure_? Fine, yes, alright, if there's nobody else... Okay, thank you." He put his hand over the receiver and looked towards Kushina as she left the kitchen, two bowls of ramen in her hands. "Shikaku needs me down at the office again to speak with one the elders. Are you going to be all right here on your own for a little while?"

"I, uh." She blinked at him and then looked down at the food she just made for them both, before returning his gaze. "Yeah, sure, don't worry about it, ttebane," She gave him a quick, tight smile, set the ramen down on the table on top of the papers. "You won't be gone long, right?"

"I'm not quite sure..." He fumbled with the phone and listened to the Nara on the other line rattle off important information to him in rapid succession. Kushina waited patiently until he finally answered, a guilty expression his face. "Maybe-? There's been a containment breach down by one of the prisons, and also a portion of the barrier that needs looking at by a seal master, and I'm the most qualified, and then I have a meeting in an hour..." he trailed off, awkwardly looking everywhere but her face. "Things just keep _happening_."

"They _do_." Kushina shook her head and gave him a soft kiss on the cheek. "But It's _alright_ \- you can go do your thing. Me and the baby will hang out here until you get back, okay?" She gave him her best reassuring smile, and a thumbs up for good measure. "It'll be great, I can watch some movies while you're gone. As long as I can find the couch under all the folders you brought, me and junior will be _golden_. Plus we have like, all the ramen we could possibly eat."

Minato winced and hung the phone up. "Please don't eat all of that while I'm gone."

She winked at him, holding up her chopsticks. "No promises. Now, go save the village! or whatever Shikaku needs you to do. We'll be waiting here when you get back."

"Thank you for understanding," he said, smiling and-

One instant teleportation later, he was gone.

Kushina sighed, alone in the empty apartment.

"Maybe I should've gotten him to send a shadow clone," she grumbled, half to herself and half to the life inside her. With that second thought in mind, she rubbed little circles on her belly and started picking at her food, suddenly not quite so hungry.

The truth was, Minato having to quickly pop out of the room and leave her behind was getting more and more common as of late. Of course Kushina expected it, and of course, she would never hold it against her husband- the man was pulling himself in so any directions, it worried her- but sometimes….

Sometimes, she was left standing in an empty room wondering when this had become their norm.

"I don't want to be one of those wives who whines about their husbands never being home." She said, more to herself than her child. "I hate feeling lonely like this. I-it's stupid. I've just been away from combat for too long. Don't mind me- junior, I'm just sad and old and worried."

After some time spent sulking in silence, she picked up her half-finished plate and cursed, noting the ugly ring of water soaked into the sketch Hana so lovingly lent her that afternoon.

She held the drawing up to the light, hoping it wasn't as bad as she first saw it. It was one of the other sketches she had picked up at random. Some masked dude- Kushina had liked the swirl decoration and the way Hana-chan had drawn the air rippling around the guy as if he was popping out of a little tornado. She had no idea where the kid got her ideas, but it looked cool.

And now, well… It was stained a lovely shade of ramen broth brown.

Maybe if she hung it up to dry by a lamp it wouldn't be so bad? All Kushina could do was try. And… If this particular drawing just so happened to not make it to Hana-chan's hands when she got her drawings back… The Inuzuka probably wouldn't miss _one,_ right?

X

When Hana returned to school a couple days later, she couldn't wait to tell everyone about Kiba. She even brought sketches of his pudgy little baby face in her bag to show everyone, but when she sat down in her chair for an early morning lecture, she noticed the spot where Fu usually sat was empty. Considering how he had never missed a day since she started class, it was… a little weird, to say the least.

"Yeah, I'd say he's been gone at least as long as you have," Izumi said during lunch break as she admired one of Hana's drawings. Besides the one photograph they had of Kiba back home, it was kind of stupidly expensive get more taken and brought to school instead. Konoha didn't have the kind of instant photography skills Hana knew from her own world. Sketches would have to do.

Shinko bit into part of her wrap. "I think Nomura-sensei said he was sick? It must be awfully bad if he missed an entire week of school…"

"Maybe he's got mono," Izumi snickered. "Some of my cousins got it a while back I heard it takes a long time to go away. Or maybe he just doesn't want to come to school anymore."

"I can hardly blame him," Hana muttered, tossing a scrap of her lunch to the Haimaru brothers. "Do you think I'd catch whatever he's got if I go to his house and give him some of my notes? I'm supposed to give them to him anyway…"

Izumi still held the picture of Kiba up to the light for her to look at. "You just want to gush to another person about your little brother, be honest."

"He's got the most _perfect_ little nose," she said, not even a bit guilty about her real motives being found out so quickly. "He's the only one of my friends who hasn't seen what he look like. The fact that the great _Fu Yamanaka_ doesn't know something must be eating him up alive. I'm only thinking about his wellbeing."

"Sure you are," Shinko said, laughing at her. "But do you even know where he lives? He doesn't really talk about his home much."

Hana raised both eyebrows at the girl. "You underestimate my hunting capabilities. You think I don't know how to track down a boy that smells like starfruit and roses every day? Please. Puh- _lease._ Finding out where he lives would be _easy_."

It wasn't.

"This is _bullshit._ " Hana stood atop the Yamanaka flower store, surveying the area while her ninken sniffed around below. The straps of her little pink backpack was starting to dig into her shoulders, and she was starting to regret piling everything from her day planner to her textbook inside it by now. She had been trying to pick up Fu's trail for at least two and a half _hours_.

Either Fu lived at school, or he was using some bullshit covert operations to cover up his scent trail leading home. Either way, Hana was frustrated, to say the least.

"Miss, please get down from there, you're blocking the sign," some store clerk said from the ground. He had the characteristic blond hair and pale eyes of one of Fu's Clansmen, and even from up on the roof Hana could smell the strong scent lilac on him.

"I'm good up here," Hana called back- really not wanting to have to deal with her allergy to the stuff when she was trying to hunt down her friend. Besides, she had already asked the guy if he knew any 'Fu's' and he had rolled his pretty eyes and said she would probably have better luck somewhere else.

After the cashier went back inside (nearly dragging Hana back onto the ground, _the prick_ ) Hana was left with little idea what to do next. She couldn't pick up a trail, she didn't know any other place other than the flower shop, and the idea of breaking into the Yamanaka clan grounds was kind of daunting, especially when the place probably reeked of lavender and she didn't know the layout.

The next day, when Fu didn't show up to school again, she got twitchy.

Following week, when he still wasn't around, when Itachi missed a couple days of school himself and came back wide-eyed, telling everyone about his new brother- Hana grinned and congratulated him, but she couldn't help but feel some nagging feeling in the back of her mind that something wasn't quite right.

It was quickly drowned out but the ' _holy shit Sasuke Uchiha is alive now,'_ panic that swiftly enveloped her the day she went to visit the Uchiha household. And then the fact that she met Fugaku Uchiha for the first time, while she was drawing his wife with intense focus, and didn't hear him enter the room.

"I see. You're the Inuzuka girl my son has been sparring with," said the man- the clan heir, the head _honcho_ himself, as he stepped into the nursery that afternoon.

It took a solid five seconds to look up from her drawing pad, and in those five seconds, the growing pit in her stomach quadrupled in size and threatened to swallow her whole. This was the guy who would plan the _future coup_. This was the guy who lead the Uchiha clan. This was the guy who pushed his six year old son more than any other parent Hana knew.

She had absolutely no idea what to say to him. It was probably written all over her face, but all Hana do could stare and nod her head like an idiot.

"It's good to see my son taking an interest in socializing with his classmates. My regards to your mother," he said, smiling tightly, before turning towards his wife and child in the nearby bed. Hana stared at his back while he gently took baby Sasuke into his arms.

"Your dad," she murmured to Itachi, as he padded up next to her. "I expected… something."

Explosions. Immediate dismissal of her presence. Maybe some kind of declaration of war on her and her family for associating with his son. Or… something?

Itachi was still wrapped up in the same baby-glow as she had been with Kiba. She didn't quite think he heard her. In fact, she was so wrapped up in the enigma of Fugaku, she didn't hear the first part of what he said either. "Sasuke is just… so small? How is it even possible for a person to be that tiny- Have you seen his hands? His fingers? Hana-san did you see how tiny his fingernails are? I had no idea his grip could be so _strong_ -"

Itachi was talking animatedly with his hands. His eyes were actually lit up in a way she hadn't ever seen before, and for a moment, it made her forget what she was going to say.

"-and he's only four days old now but I saw him open his eyes a couple times and look at me and they're just like mother's, it's like looking into a mirror. I think if Shisui were here he'd be able to tell if how much our parents he resembles, until then all I have is an educated guess and the fact that mother bet with Kushina-sama that 'Sasuke-chan' would be a girl or have her face because her tea leaves said so."

Hana watched him prattle on, completely mesmerized in the fact that he now had a little brother. It was pretty incredible to hear him talk at such a length. "I'm not complaining, but… are you _breathing_ in between sentences?"

"I-" He actually took a breath and steadied himself. "No, I think I'm okay. This is just… new for me. I'm sorry, were you saying something? About my father?"

"Nothing, I just expected more... bark, I think," She said, watching the man cradle baby Sasuke in his arms across the room. His eyes were soft and gentle and he chuckled a little bit as his wife said something in passing that Hana couldn't quite catch. Something about Fugaku and the child having the same frown.

She had already started sketching a new drawing out when Itachi spoke up, much quieter and more like himself this time. "He is definitely… softer than usual. I think he's happy to have another son."

"You think so?" She erased some of her guidelines and added some highlights to Fugaku's jawline. Actually- you know what? Softer was nice. The touching family moment happening before her deserved at least a softer edge. "I wonder what sort of brother you'd end up being if Sasuke-chan was a girl. Seems like a wasted opportunity- we could've bonded."

"You can still do that," Itachi said, staring at her drawings, and then at her, uncertainly. "You do _want to_ , right?"

"Of course I do," she said, trying to assure him, even though her throat felt a little tight thinking about interacting with _the_ actual Sasuke Uchiha. Actually, the fact that she was in the same room as the _entire Uchiha family_ just reminded her of how doomed they were, and that she could almost see the image of Mikoto and Fugaku bleeding out on the futon before their two kids, both of boys faces _twisted in pain-_

 _(How many years would it take? Six? No matter how much time she had she felt the future stand like a monolith before her, unchangeable. The longer she hung around Itachi's family, the more she felt like they had a countdown above their heads, slowly winding down. She felt that way about a lot of people in her life, actually.)_

"Maybe later on we could arrange a playdate," Hana said, trying to clear the image of the Uchiha massacre out of her vision. When she looked down at her drawing and saw her pencil marking digging just a little too deep into the paper, making the image sharp and harsher than the wanted, she shut her sketchbook closed. "They'd be in the same graduating year, just like us, right? Maybe they can be friends."

"You think so?" Itachi's eyes were wide, and not for the first time today, had a childish excitement that broke Hana's heart the longer she stared at him because she knew it wouldn't last.

"Of course."

She felt ancient and ugly, like she was ruining a perfect memory for him by butting her head into his life and feeling miserable when she should be happy like everyone else. He was probably perceptive enough to tell she wasn't having a great time, but she was grateful he didn't press the issue or ask why. He didn't quite understand why the angle of her smiles were always a little too sharp, or why she found herself staring at nothing for long moments, but there was so much going on in her head, she just couldn't explain. There was a low hum in the back of her mind, low and grinding, and the harder she tried to ignore it the more it dug in deeper and reminded her that she was an intruder into Itachi's life. And it was him and Mikoto who had invited her over to their stupid house in the first place.

She hung around for another half hour and tried to play with baby Sasuke a bit before giving up entirely and going home. He was a cute kid, and she liked babies well enough, even though she was bad with children in general, but she just felt… so completely drained by the whole situation. She found herself sitting outside on her back porch, staring at her little garden until she was sick of it.

The growing weeds and dying flowers distracted her enough for a while, and over the weekend, (when she wasn't training) she spent almost all of her time digging up creepvines, planters, and whatever this world's equivalent form of dandelions were. That stupid humming still stuck around, making everything frustrating and annoying, but as long as she had plants to rip out of the ground, she could keep it at bay.

(Sometime later Hasuki asked why she pulled out all her flowers, and Hana told him she didn't even realize that the plants in her bucket were hers until it was too late.)

The following days after her visit to Itachi's house, Fu still wasn't at school, and the nagging feeling like she should know what was going on was actually driving her up the wall.

Here she was, eighteen taking on seven, and she couldn't even sit straight and listen to her teacher give a lecture without glancing at the empty spot next to her half a dozen times. It was pathetic. It was stupid! Maybe Fu really did get sick or something or he didn't want to do the last couple months of school. Maybe he was fine and having a good time, and she was being anxious and worried for no reason. Maybe it was because she needed to focus her anxiety onto something _physical_ , what with the Kyuubi attack approaching.

Because, in all honestly, the attack was _coming_. And the most she could do without endangering herself was mark the days on the calendar until it happened to arrive. Maybe that was why she felt so cagey recently. Why she desperately craved some sense of control, instead of the constant feeling of impending doom.

"-and he missed the week after assignment as well, Hana-san. Can you manage it all?" Nomura-sensei was more than happy to give out Fu's apartment address if it meant Hana had to haul an entire metric ton's worth of homework with her.

"Just as long as it's _really_ his home address," she grunted, hefting the straps of her backpack up higher on her shoulders.

The Haimaru brothers were circling around her legs as she made her way off the schoolyard and into the shopping district of Konoha. She had trusted a few empty papers to them to make them feel like they were helping, and had forbidden Kemuri from carrying anything at all, because she knew for a fact that anything put in his mouth was going to be shredded.

Sekimaru and Misuto stayed near her side while they threaded through the busy shoppers and thick crowd, and couple times she had to use the dog whistle in her pocket to reign Kemuri back in so he didn't get lost. But when she finally got to the little apartment complex behind a herb shop, she finally found what she was looking for.

She expected Fu to live up in the Yamanaka compound- it was his last name, after all, wich meant he recognized the clan as part of who he was and they recognized him as part of who they were, so it was easy to assume he lived with them. Instead, she found herself climbing four flights of stairs to some civilian complex, with peeling paint and the lingering scent of too-sweet air freshener wafting through the hallways. She could tell he lived there since his scent was everywhere- months old, and probably a lot longer than that if she was any better at sensing. His chakra left ghostly imprints on the walls outside, and she wondered if this was the place he taught himself how to scale walls. For a twelve year old boy, the whole place seemed…. Kind of barren to raise a child. But then again, all she knew of Fu's home life was that he didn't know his dad and that somehow made for a good icebreaker.

 _She should apologize about that,_ She thought, as she looked back on it. _It probably was a sore spot for him, even if he didn't seem bothered by it in the first place._

He had to have some sort of parental guardian. Maybe he had mentioned a grandmother at some point? She refused to believe he lived on his own, but after all, this was Konoha, the village that made Naruto live in an apartment all by himself for years, so she really didn't know what to expect when she got to the address she had been given.

 _Was there a Child Services in this world?_ She was on the verge of calling them when she sensed three chakra signatures on the other side of the door- one belonging to Fu, another strikingly similar to his, and one belonging to a civilian, weak and gentle, but present nonetheless.

She clicked her tongue and motioned for the Haimaru brothers to stand behind her before she knocked, one, two, three times, before she stood back herself and clutched the pink straps of her backpack. The soft footsteps told her that the person approaching as a ninja- not the civilian inside, but not the person she expected when the door swung open and a child she didn't recognize looked down at her like she was somehow interrupting something.

"Who are you?" The boy was taller than her- a bit younger than the Yamanaka inside, with none of the clan's yellow hair or soft features. He was-

Familiar, somehow. Though Hana couldn't quite place him. His face was young and he didn't quite fit the big, awkward circular glasses on his face, but Hana found herself paying particular attention to his hair.

His white…. Hair.

"Who are _you_?" She accidentally said out loud, completely and obviously squinting at him, because her warning bells were going off again and she still had no idea how to feel about this new person.

(maybe his hair was really an off-grey sort of color. Did it matter?)

The boy narrowed his eyes at her. "I asked you first."

"I asked you second," Hana shot back. She really wasn't in the mood to be talked down to by a ten-year-old. The Haimaru brothers shifted uncomfortably by her side. "This is Fu's apartment, right? I came to give him his missing homework."

"Right, _sure_ ," the kid said, in the sort of dismissive tone that implied she was wasting his time. He held the door a little closer to him and gestured for her backpack. "Hand it to me and I can give it to him later."

She frowned. "But he's right inside- I can sense him. And I haven't seen him in weeks, can't I give it to him myself?"

"He's come down with the flu- visit some other time if you want to _chat_ with him," he said passive aggressively. But all of his attention was on Hana while her ninken sat by her feet, and inevitably, while Hana and the kid argued, one of them got bored enough to stray away and wiggle their way through the crack in the door like any curious animal would.

(and of course it was Kemuri who did it, because he had no sense of self preservation.)

"Shit-! Sorry, but _you know_ how pets are, always getting into places they shouldn't." She ducked past the kid with as much grace as she could muster and threw down her backpack by the door, just as her other two dogs snuck inside and started sniffing absolutely everything. Inwardly, she was kinda pleased with how her ninken had gotten her past security, and disregarded the narrowed eyes and disapproving glares sent her way as Mystery Boy went passed her and tore after Kemuri, making some kind of racket in the room down the hall.

He didn't look like the kind of person who was used to dealing with animals, but then again, not a lot of people were- what she didn't expect, though, was for someone to take a freaking broom to her dog and swat at him like he was some kind of _house pest_.

"Out of the kitchen! I'm sweeping- out!" an older voice shouted, just as Hana turned the corner and nearly tripped over her own feet. Kemuri retreated behind her where he wasn't in danger of being swept away. Her head moved with the sound of Hana shuffling her feet, and the old woman frowned. "Who are you?"

"I'm uh, Hana." She said, feeling guilty for barging in and scaring her in her own home. "Sorry, that was my dog, he didn't mean to scare you, uh, miss…?"

"Fujiko."

The elderly woman standing in front of her, in an old worn sweater and slippers, squinted at her as if she wasn't completely seeing the whole picture. Her pale white hair hung limp in front of her face, and Hana's initial anger from her dog getting swatted at dissipated when she realized the lady was _incredibly_ blind in both eyes.

Hana felt a bit silly to bow her head to someone who couldn't see the motion, but she would've felt worse not showing some sign of remorse. "Sorry to intrude like this, I just wanted to see if Fu was alright. I heard he was sick?"

"Ah yes- the poor boy, the worse he's been in years," Fujiko said, setting her broom aside after she felt around for an edge to rest it on. "In my condition, I can't tend to him, you see, but I'm grateful that he has a friend here to look over him while he gets better."

"Wait, friend?" Hana looked at the strange boy with glasses and white hair. "You're friends with him too?"

He gave her a nonplussed look. "What _else_ would I be?"

"I dunno- a family member. Some kind of butler. I don't know you from the academy, and Fu's never mentioned any other friends outside of school before."

"That's funny, because he never mentioned you either," The kid said- and he looked like he was losing his patience with her. "Now, you have your dog and know I'm speaking the truth, why don't you get going before your parents worry where you are or something. Shouldn't kids like you be at home this time of day?"

"I mean, if you want me to get going, fine, I'll go." Hana huffed and let herself be practically shoved towards the door.

"Nonsense- If you're both here for my grandson, why don't you keep him company?" Fujiko said, smiling placidly at the space just a little over Hana's head. "He sounded much better than before- perhaps my sweet tea remedies are working."

"Fujiko-san," mystery boy said, frowning. "Do you think that's really necessary? He needs _his rest_."

"You worry too much," She said, waving a hand at the kid. She made her way over to an old worn chair and gently sat herself down, as if the strain of doing so made her joints ache. It probably did. "He's in the next room over, dear girl. Just make sure your dogs stick close so they don't go and startle me again."

"Right…" Hana said, turning towards the door she assumed belonged to her friend. This whole situation was weird and strange and she couldn't shake the feeling of underlying wrongness behind it- but something about the old woman's nonchalance gave her a false sense of security as she opened the bedroom door, and she didn't expect the sight that graced her as she walked inside.

"You shouldn't-" The boy behind her cut himself off last minute and put a hand on his forehead as Hana's jaw dropped. Clearly he was trying to keep her away from seeing this, but _honestly what the fuck._

"What are you doing here?" Fu's voice was hoarse and rough as he struggled to sit up straight in his bed. His ponytail was undone and there were bandages up and down his arms, and he quickly pulled the covers over himself so she wouldn't see anymore, but it was obvious that he wasn't suffering from some kind of illness. Were those bruises around his throat? _What the hell was going on?_

Hana's clenched her fists as she stood at the foot of his bed. "Who did this to you? How long ago did this happen?"

"It's nothing." He refused to meet her eyes. There was an edge to his voice that told her something about this was serious. "You shouldn't have seen this."

"What the hell does that supposed to mean?" Hana approached him. "You look like hamburger meat-! This is why you've missed so much school, right? Did someone try to kill you or something?"

Mystery boy crossed his arms and gave her another blank stare, closing the bedroom door behind him. "It's nothing like that, I can assure you."

"I was training." Was all Fu said, still not meeting Hana's eyes. "It's none of your business, and you shouldn't have shown up here. Who gave my address?"

"Nomura-sensei gave it to me." Hana frowned, crossing her arms. "What do you mean it's none of my business? Fu, we're _friends._ If something happened, you can tell me."

"You don't know what you're talking about," he said softly, his gaze hard and unreadable. "Don't talk to my grandmother- she doesn't need to know anything."

"What are you _talking about_?" Hana stared at him incredulously. "What's going on with you?"

"It's none of your business," He said, and this time he turned his head to look at her, his yellow-gold eyes sharp and piercing. "You should leave. You and I both know that I don't actually need the homework you brought me. And I don't care about whatever's going on in your life. I was training. That's it. Go home."

"But-" Hana was about to argue again when Fu cut her off with a short, dismissive wave of his hand. Her jaw snapped shut and she felt like she was staring at a whole other person.

 _Was this what Izumi was trying to warn her about before?_

With a dismissive flip of his hair, Fu pulled himself upwards in bed and jerked his chin towards the door. "I need to change my bandages. Kabuto, can you see her out, and make sure she doesn't tell anyone what she saw?"

"No problem." The other boy's hand touched her shoulder, and she flinched back as if she had been burned.

"D-did you just say…" She stared wide-eyed into the face of the boy she had just met moments prior, and- _Jesus christ_ she felt like such an idiot for not realizing sooner. But then again, _she didn't exactly expect the right-hand man of Orochimaru to be in Fu's home._

"This is going to complicate things," Kabuto said, sighing to himself. He tried again to guide her out the bedroom, but she was already giving him a wide enough birth now that she knew who he was. Her ninken were already down the hall and by the front door. She had passed her backpack but had basically forgotten all about it by the time she left the little apartment building.

Faintly she heard the sound of Fujiko speaking inside.

 _She just thinks her grandson is sick_ , Hana thought incredulously, wanting to tear her hair out in frustration. _Have they been lying to an old blind woman this whole time? What could two children be up to that needed this much deceit?_

"You forgot this," Kabuto said, lugging her backpack through the doorway with ease, unaffected by her inner turmoil. He pretended not to notice the look she gave him when he dropped her back by her feet with a hollow, uncaring thunk.

For a moment, she wanted to say something. To tell the little, entitled prick off for everything she knew he would end up doing in the future, but she didn't.

She just bent over and put her bag back on, and returned the hard, thinking look he gave her, feeling too all too tired and old to even begin with the mess that was _Kabuto Yakushi._

"If you mention what you saw to anyone," the snake said, each word carefully pronounced and articulated. "You'll lose more than you already have today."

And then he shut the door, and locked it behind him.

She spent the rest of the walk home wondering what he really meant by that.

 **X**

 **Ch 23 - End :3c**

 **RnR! Thanks for reading!**


	24. Chapter 24 - The Rising Tide

**AN:** This took a lot of anime openings to get my motivation going, specifically Blue Bird and hopefully while reading this, the Zalgo text in the second scene is legible- if not, **I̵͏҉'̨m sò͠ ś̛͝o̸̕͝rr̛̀y̢͡.̷̕ ҉ b** ut it was what was needed at the time.

 **Words:** **6,839**

 **X**

 **Chapter 24 - The Rising Tide**

 **X**

The air between them had abruptly shifted after Fu came back to school. She didn't press as much as she could have- didn't yell at him for kicking her out, or talking down to her, for fear of… rejection, probably. She didn't know how to feel about it. Didn't know where she stood with him anymore.

"Here." She handed an empty test paper to him, and it was just about the only conversation that passed between them. The last couple of days had been _tense._

She was glad to see Fu as he was- not in the clutches of Danzo, where he could get hurt, but… as long as they sat next to one another in class, she sat with a growing knot of uneasiness in her stomach. She didn't know how to feel about the entire situation. He was only twelve- He was being manipulated. It wasn't his _fault. If she had somehow known though, beforehand…_

Could she have prevented Fu from joining Root? Presumably, that was what he had been getting up to. It made sense- he was vulnerable, pretty much alone and without anyone to confide, sans this year. He had isolated himself from his peers and had basically made himself the perfect target for power-hungry men like Danzo to scoop right up. It wouldn't have surprised Hana if Fu's dealings with Root had gone on longer than the past little while, but that didn't make her feel any less wary of the whole situation. If Hana was being honest, she felt… just the slightest bit wary of him now. Well, actually, she was much more wary of him now. If he was buddies with _Kabuto_ , what was going on in his head? Did they have more in common with one another than Fu had with Hana? Was it possible Fu could end up an enemy rather than a friend?

A little part of her despaired at the thought of having another friend she may have to stand against in the future. Him and Itachi both… Why was she so bad at making normal _friends?_

 _No!_ She didn't want to give up on him just yet. There was still time to save Fu from Kabuto, from Danzo, and from Root. If she had to fight Fu in the future, she'd rather it be now, when they were kids and could work things out than later when they were bitter adults, too far set in their beliefs to make any headway. Hana believed deep down that she still had a chance to steer Fu down a less destructive path- she just needed to find out a way _how._

(The fact that Fu was being a _pompous jackass_ about her finding out did not help matters in the slightest. If anything, it just made her want to sock him in the shoulder and shake him until he was back to normal.)

"Remember to write your names clearly at the top of the paper before you begin, and good luck!"

Nomura-sensei paced in front of everyone with bright eyes and rosy cheeks as she watched the class begin. It was harder than their previous tests; Hana had actually needed to study for it and had spent the last couple days starting at her textbook after returning home.

 _(She certainly had enough reading material, since her backpack had been filled to the brim with worksheets.)_

After finishing off the first page, she peeked over her arm and noted that Fu had written only his first name at the top of the paper, and had left the rest of his sheet blank.

It bugged her. She didn't know why it bugged her. She had always known he wasn't the type to do everything he was told, but now it just felt like _bragging_ , and when he pushed the test forward and sat back in his seat, it grated on her nerves. Just a little bit. Just a teensy, weensy bit.

But it must've shown on her face, because soon, Fu had broken their silence.

"Do you have a problem?" He didn't even turn his head to indicate he caught her glancing at him, but she stiffened nonetheless. "Keep it to yourself."

Her pencil stilled in her hand, and she stopped seeing the test in front of her. "I didn't say anything."

"You keep glancing this way without saying anything. It's annoying."

She could tell this time that he was looking at her now, his eyes seemed to bore right into the side of her head. It was her turn to play coy and not look back. "Do you _want_ me to say something?"

There was a pause. "No."

She held her tongue and decided to scratch in a couple sloppy kanji underneath question before turning the page. She didn't want to argue with him in case it blew up in her face and made things worse, but… the urge shake some sense into him was growing by the minute.

But fine, _Okay_. If he didn't want her to say anything, she _wouldn't_. She could be petty like that. She could be _so_ petty, fucking _watch_ her, Fu _Yamanaka._

By the time the test was over, Hana had filled out the entire quiz and Fu hadn't even picked up his pencil. She didn't know what his plans were, but if flunking was his plan, he was doing a pretty great job doing just that.

"Fu-san, these papers are completely empty," Nomura-sensei said, blinking at the test in her hands after it had been turned in.

"Class is over," he replied, gazing at her with a neutral expression. "Can I leave now?"

"If you leave, I'm going to have to count this as part of your grade." She frowned, a crease forming between her eyebrows. "I can give you more time to complete it if that's what you want…?"

Fu sighed and tossed his ponytail behind him, before making his way towards the classroom door. "Just keep it," he said over his shoulder, not even looking at them.

Hana and Nomura-sensei watched him leave, the classroom empty, besides the two of them and the Haimaru brothers.

"He does know that this test was important for his final grade, right? He may not pass the course if his grades keep slipping..." Her teacher said, disbelievingly. She reached out and took Hana's test, still looking at the door Fu walked out. "I should speak with him and his guardian…. Do you know what's going on with him Hana-san? I understand that the two of you are friends."

"Uh..." The words of Kabuto rang out in her mind, and Hana bit her tongue to keep from tipping Nomura-sensei off. Her face went completely blank, and she blinked up at her teacher like a startled deer.

' _If you mention what you saw to anyone, you'll lose more than you already have today.'_

She had no idea how deep Fu was already in Root. If she stirred the waters any further, would she draw Danzo's gaze?

She…. she didn't think she was ready to step into the spotlight yet. Danzo was just… Such a massive pillar in the village. She didn't know what sort of lengths he would go to keep Fu in his possession.

And she didn't know what lengths Kabuto would go to keep Danzo happy.

' _you'll lose_ _ **more**_ _than you already have today'_

What… could she have lost? What _could_ she lose? She had so many more people in her life now. So many wonderful, beautiful people that she couldn't bear _losing._

Her family. Her friends. Her _little brother._

What could Kabuto _do?_

Better question: What _couldn't_ he do? It was _Kabuto._

"Hana-san," her teacher was looking at her with an intense expression. "Do you have something to share with me?"

 _(she was a coward._ )

"U-um." Hana swallowed nervously, before steeling herself. She shot her Sensei her brightest smile and pulled on the straps of her backpack. "Nope! Sorry, Nomura-sensei. If I hear anything, I'll be sure to let you know though. Thanks for the test! It was much more challenging than before. Good job!"

( _But that didn't mean she would give up on a friend. Coward yes, scumbag no._ )

"What? Wait, _Hana_ -"

The door slammed shut behind her as the Inuzuka sped outside, her ninken on her heels. Nomura-sensei looked down at the completed paper in her hands and pursed her lips when she noted that the name at the top had been scribbled out and replaced with Fu Yamanaka's instead.

 _ **X**_

Air displaces beneath sandaled feet. A dark cloaked figure stands within the solid walls of Konoha. Guards patrol on new schedules. More and more in frequency as _The Day_ approaches.

 _Something is different. Something has changed._

It took him a while to notice, but he knows these routines by heart. Memorized them. Something has definitely changed- it's in the very air surrounding the couple. To anyone else, it would've looked like business as usual.

' _ **T͟heý kn̢o͡w͟,̸'**_ A paranoid, manic voice in the back of his head whispered. ' _ **T͠h́e͠y̕ ḱno͢w ̕you̸'ve̵ ̶been ͏wa͝tc͢h̢ing ͜t͜he̛m̨.'̴ ́**_

' _They shouldn't,'_ he thinks, steeling his resolve as he flits between shadows. ' _I've been so careful.'_

' _ **Ćh̛͟à́n̷ge͞ ̧o͠͝f ͡pl͜a̵͟͞ǹ͢͝s,͞'**_ the voice says, and he's pressured into agreeing with it. He doesn't have much of a choice. ' _ **Ta̢ke͞ ̀wḩa̡t͘ ̡y͟ou c̨an͘,̡ as̛ ̵soo̸n ̴aş ͠an ́o̵pe̡ning͢ ҉i͡s mad͜e.̧ ҉'**_

' _But how?'_ He wonders both to himself and to the voice he knows should not exist within the confines of his mind. ' _Sensei is too strong to take on as he is.'_

' _ **F̶̨͟oo͟l͡i̡s̢̡h͡ ̕͠ ͢͟b̢͞ò̴y̨!̶͘͟'**_ the voice snarls, and Obito flinches despite himself.' _ **̛Y̧o̸u sḩou̢ld ͘k̶n̡ow ́bý n͞o̵w ͠w͏h͝at̀ t̨h̵a͟ws̵ ͘any ̡de̷f̡en͡ce,͟ a̶nd makés ͟a ̷corps҉e o͠f any̧ ̨man̨.̴ Yo͘u҉ ͏y̨o͏urs̷e͘l̛f a̵llo̸ẁed ̸it ̸to͢ m͢ak͏e͘ ͘y̵ou ͏a victim͟ ̴to̴ įt.̧'**_

He has an inkling of what it is, and his heart aches in his chest. He voices the question out loud- his gaze a million miles away. "Tell me."

' _ **Love**_ _ **, ͡i̴s̴ wh͘at̀ ẃi̵ll ͏al̀low ̷yo͞u̸ ̀t͢o̡ se̴ek̛ r̶et͏r̸i͏but̸ión̛ ̸aga̷i̵nst ̴your ͜Yon͏da͝i̕me̶.'̵**_ The voice murmured, soft and smooth, almost purring.

Obito feels a chill go down his spine.

' _ **Aǹd͡ ̀it ̀w̸il͞l͢ ͡ţea̸r͟ ҉his s҉ǫu͢l̷ i͞n͘ tw͡o,̕ ̵if͘ y͟o͡u wai̢t͢ ̧fo͠r th́e ̸r͏igh͘t o͢p̕p̀o̸r̢t͞u҉ni͘ţy͏.̵ Come͞, ͠i ͜w͠ill ̧tel̕l̸ ̵you ḩo͡w̡…'̸**_

 **X**

Hana woke up a month from the Kyuubi attack clutching her bedsheets, pale, white and shaking. For the fifth consecutive night in a row, she had been torn from her dreams, the image of a burning crimson eye and poisonous living chakra scorching its way through her mind and into her dreams.

She couldn't sleep. The nightmares were getting so bad they had turned into night terrors, and she had trouble distinguishing her dreams from real life anymore. It made for awful all-nighters and days spent awake, eating up her chakra for absolutely no reason, other than the stupid, irrational fear of closing her eyes and dreaming about the day that she knew was _only going to get closer._ The less sleep she got, the more twitchy she got around her family, who tried to pry the truth out of her. They only got snappy remarks and mumbled half-apologies as a result. She could barely focus during training, no matter how many times she tried to beat her fist into a post. Eventually, the chakra exhaustion caught up with her, and she slept sixteen hours for an entire _day_. That, and with schoolwork piling up...

God. School was a nightmare all in itself.

"You've had the same dream again," Itachi said it more as a blank statement to describe her appearance rather than a pointed question. He let her sit down next to her during recess and didn't stare too hard at her pock-marked face or frazzled, wild looking hair outside its usual low-ponytail. "I'm sorry."

If Hana was a little less exhausted, she would feel bad for feeding Itachi a lie and telling him she suffered nightmares of that missing-nin from their camping trip. In all honesty, though, she _had_ suffered nightmares from it- but she had gotten so wrapped up in her mounting anxiety over the Kyuubi attack, that morning in the woods felt like a breeze compared to the hurricane that loomed in the distance.

God. She had a month before it started. _A fucking month._

She _really_ hoped Minato got her letter.

"Fu-san has come to school today," Itachi said, filling the empty conversation between them, before awkwardly taking a bite out of his lunch. The two of them watched across the academy grounds as Fu cut across the property, giving no indication that he felt guilty for being over three hours late to class.

Hana rubbed the sleep out of her eyes and struggled to get to her feet. "I should try to talk to him again."

Itachi startled as if he hadn't expected her to say anything. They _had_ been sitting rather quietly all recess. "Do you want me to come with you?"

Hana shrugged one shoulder, and the two of them followed Fu's trail into the academy past their own classroom into another one, where they found him talking down to a pale-haired boy with a green bandanna on his head.

For a moment, the sheer likeness between the boy's hair color made her instantly think that it was Kabuto. But no- the color was more blue than grey, and Hana would've recognized his scent a whole lot quicker. As it was, when the Fu and the kid caught sight of them, the grey-haired boy stiffened like a board upon seeing her, but there was no recognition in his eyes.

"We'll talk later, Mizuki-san." Fu turned around and dismissed the boy, before meeting Hana's gaze with a level stare. Instead of making a defensive stance, his face went neutral and he let his hands fall to his side, impassive, and unreadable. It was as if all of his defenses had been raised, and Hana was looking at a brick wall. "Do you two need something?"

He'd gone through training somewhere. Hana was sure of it.

"We were, uh," Itachi looked at her for help in carrying the conversation, but found none. "Wondering how you were doing…? Did I get that right?"

"Sure, close enough," Hana said to him. She turned to look at Fu, shoving her hands in her pockets. "I see you're making new friends outside of class quicker than I anticipated. Do you and _Mizuki_ -san go way back? Or is that just the _other_ kid with silver hair."

 _Still no reaction_.

"You'd like to know, wouldn't you?" Fu's eyes were hard and cold, despite their bright yellow coloring. He strolled past the empty desks in the classroom and stood in front of them by the door. "No offense, but my business my own business, and you can keep your nose out of it, _Inuzuka-_ san."

He said the words between his teeth, but his hard expression faltered when a flash of amusement played on Hana's face.

He glowered at her. "Disregard the pun, that wasn't meant to be funny."

"It kinda was," She said, and she delighted at the fact that Fu's face twitched in annoyance, just for a second, before his stone wall came back up and he shook off her jab.

"Uchiha-san." He politely bowed to Itachi, before gliding past them both into the hallway.

It was Hana's turn to glower. "Hold on, I'm not done with you yet!" and she charged after him.

"Hana-san, wait-!" Itachi sighed and followed them both at an acceptable pace indoors. The two already outpaced him and shot outside the classroom at lightning speed, leaving scuff marks down the hallway and the faint lingering of chakra in the air.

At some point, following after Fu had turned into full-on chasing after him, and as the three of them turned a corner, they were going too fast to stop in time as Fu slammed into a startled Haruto, sending the Hyuga flying, along with the boxed lunch he had in his hands.

Hana tripped and caught herself at the last moment, falling in front of the two boys instead of on top of them. "S-shit, are you guys okay?"

"Ow…." Haruto rubbed his forehead on the floor as Itachi helped her back up to her feet. Fu followed suit, except he slapped Itachi's hand away, and glared at them all like a slighted cat.

"What the hell is your problem? I told you to leave me alone!" He said, rounding on Hana, fists clenched by his sides.

"Hey, if you hadn't run off when I wanted to talk to you-"

"I don't care what you have to say," he spat, raising a hand up to quiet her when she opened her mouth to argue back. "And you!" He turned on Haruto now, still on the floor dazed. "Watch where you're going!"

Hana gaped at him. "Hey! Haruto has nothing to do with this, leave him out of it."

"I-It's okay, Hana-san," said Hyuga in question murmured, gently helped to his feet by Itachi. He looked down at his ruined bento box and visibly despaired, his brows pinching together. "Oh… That… was mine, but… I didn't think you had lunch today, and I…" He sighed and bend down to pick up as much as he could.

Fu blinked in confusion for a moment, before scowled and shook his head. "Save it. I don't want your food."

"You're going to say that, after knocking him to the ground?" Hana stared at him. "What's left to _save_?"

Haruto despaired a little more, and he stared down at the floor. "Right, of course. My apologies. I didn't mean to be presumptuous..."

"Then don't be," Fu said, before turning on his heel and marching outside. He brushed past Izumi and Shinko, barely glancing in their direction before he disappeared from sight.

The girls looked at each other before noticing Haruto kneeling on the ground, scooping rice back into his little lunch box.

"Oh my _god_." Izumi stood shocked by the door as Shinko rushed to his side to help out. "Tell me he didn't do what I think he did."

"It was an accident," Itachi supplied, picking a dirty tomato slice up off the ground. "Although that doesn't appear to make it any better."

"I'm so sorry Haruto," Shinko said gently, rubbing the Hyuga's back in a sympathetic gesture. "Maybe you could try again next time?"

"No, he… Made his intentions rather clear…" Haruto scraped together the last remains of the lunch and tossed the little bento box into a nearby trash can. He sighed, tucking his hands into the sleeves of his long robes. "Thank you both for the help, but it, unfortunately, your kindness was wasted on me. My apologies." He shut his eyes and sharply bowed his head.

"Oh, no, no, no, no no, it's not your fault! " Shinko said quickly, before looking at her friend for help. "Right Izumi-chan?"

"R-right! Yeah!" It seemed to take gargantuan effort in her to stay positive, as opposed to the vibrating angry tone her chakra took on. "You did nothing wrong. It's not your fault Fu was a lousy, ungrateful _jackass_ -"

"Izumi," Shinko said with a warning tone to her voice. "We're not starting a fight today."

"No, but _I_ might." Hana's eyes were still on the spot where Fu disappeared, and it might've been her sleep deprivation or the fact that she was extra antsy the closer kushina's due date got, but she absolutely positively wanted to start a fight. For god's sakes, Haruo looked like he actually might _cry._

Itachi shot her a flat look, with just a hint of anxiety bubbling in his chakra. "Hana, you can't be serious." He even dropped the honorific for good measure.

"No, no I think I _am_. I'm..." She took a breath to steel herself. "I'm going to kick his _ass_. He's gotta learn his lesson somehow, and if I have to resort to a little violence, well, he shouldn't have been a dick in the _first_ place."

"That doesn't mean it has to be _you_ who teaches him a lesson," He argued, taking a step towards her. "I agree that he's been unnecessarily antagonistic, but you don't have to be the one who eventually teaches him right from wrong. Leave that to an adult, maybe?"

Hana froze for a moment before she sighed and shook her head. She basically was an adult in this situation. At least far more than Fu, for god's sakes. "Look, I'm not going to rough him up too bad. It's personal between the two of us. I can't ask you to back me up on this when you aren't involved at all, and I won't ask Haruto, because, well…"

"I'm… I'm not interested in hurting him," The Hyuga said morosely. His chakra was slow with hurt, and Hana desperately didn't want to push him, in case the boy actually did tear up. "You don't have to do this, Hana-san. I won't take offense."

"Would you take offense if he shows up to school tomorrow with a black eye but a change in character?" Hana stared the Hyuga dead in the eyes.

He blinked at her but kept her gaze. After a second, he pursed his lips and neatly folded his hands in front of him. "No comment."

Izumi choked out a startled laugh before Shinko elbowed her in the side. "Hey, if he's all for it-?"

"Don't even think about joining in. We're hanging out at your place, remember? Your dad's supposed to pick us up after school," the Suna girl said, arms crossed over her chest. "And if you get hurt, how am I supposed to explain _that_ to him?"

"With several various hand gestures and incoherent mumbling?" Izumi's smile was as bright as it was sarcastic. Shinko jabbed her in the side again. "Okay okay! I get the message." She turned to Hana and gave the girl a determined look. "Give him hell, Hana-chan!"

"Or just an earful," Itachi said, pained. "There's no peaceful resolution to this, is there…"

Hana could hear the bell ring for recess to end, and the rest of the academy students started filtering through the main doors. She shot Itachi her most confident grin and hoped the thumbs up detracted the tired, shaky aura her chakra was giving off. "It's better now there's fighting than later, _trust me._ I'll see you guys later? preferably tomorrow."

Itachi blinked at her, already making her way outside in the same direction Fu went. "Wait, what do you mean _tomorrow?"_

"Tell Nomura-sensei whatever you want. Wish me luck!"

And then she was gone.

"Good luck…" Itachi sighed, rubbing his forehead.

Little did he know, it would be longer than a day until he next saw her.

 **X**

"You're sure about this?" Kushina unsteadily took Minato's hand in hers and looked into his bright blue eyes for any sign of unease or uncertainty. She found none.

"I'm sure. I've quadruple checked everything. If we do this," he paused and drew her a little closer into his arms. Minato's voice was soft and gentle. "We have a better chance of beating whoever comes after us this way. Shikaku and I made the plans ourselves. The third and even _Danzo Shimura_ assured us that it was the best option, considering the circumstances."

"Then why do I still feel uneasy about this," Kushina sighed, twining their fingers together.

It didn't help the frantic, fluttering feeling in her chest one bit. She puffed out her cheeks in annoyance. "Do I _really_ have to have a room full of people surrounding me while I give birth to our son? Even if I don't have my legs up or anything, will it really be _necessary_ , ttebane?"

He kissed her cheek in an attempt to calm her further and laughed when the air rushed out of her cheeks and tickled his brow. "I'll make sure you're safe no matter what. You _and_ our child."

"It's gonna be a boy, I can _feel it,"_ she said, suddenly full of spit and vinegar. Picturing their son in her arms erase all the worry and doubt in her mind, and helped her focus on the family that she always so desperately wanted. It right there in front of her grasp. _A little boy, just like her Minato!_

She tightened her hold on her husband, determined not to let him out of her arms. "Okay. You've convinced me. Let's do it your way."

Minato sighed in relief, his eyes twinkling as he looked at her. " _I love you_."

She wrinkled her nose and pretended to forget the lonely days spent alone and reservations towards their uncertain future. With her husband at her side, and her son visualized so clearly in her arms, she couldn't help but feel like the two of them had set themselves on a new path- one certain, with all three of them in it _, together._

"I love you _more_." As the words left her lips, she almost believed the excuses she told herself to keep from worrying. To keep that quiet whisper of doubt from making a fool out of her and ruining everything.

(Maybe she should've listened to it harder, in hindsight.)

 **X**

Fu got farther than she expected, but he didn't make much ground after she got a lock on his scent. She had the Haimaru brothers with her which made tracking him a much easier job, but the fact that Fu ended up realizing he was being followed put a wrench in her plans pretty quickly. After all, any knowledge about future Root hideouts would have been invaluable- but, being the perceptive bastard that he was, he cut her off before she discovered anything.

 _Ugh._ The thought of her friend in the clutches of Danzo's ugly little hands made her sick. He was letting himself get used- why couldn't he _see that?_

"You're a particular kind of annoying, you know that?" Fu said, swiveling around to look at her.

She had followed him through the main shopping district of Konoha, down into the poorer districts, and when he had swapped from roof hopping to squeezing between alleyways, she had followed suit. The old brick walls cast particular malevolent shadow across Fu's face as the sun began to dip lower on the horizon, but she couldn't let it bother her. After all, Fu was _twelve_ , and he had been her friend at some point. Sure, she was there to _kick his ass_ , but she wouldn't deny the fact that he had been one of her very first friends at school. He was just being a massive, _gigantic_ jerk right now.

She decided one last time she'd try using her words before resorting to violence. "You know, whatever thing you're going through right now that requires you to disconnect from your friends really doesn't suit you. You're better than this. Haruto didn't deserve that kinda treatment, _you know that._ "

"You don't know _anything,_ " he spat, his shoulders rigid and tense.

He looked closer to snapping and attacking her, as opposed to the other way around. Hana followed by his earlier example and kept her features loose and empty. She almost wanted to laugh at how defensive he got by her lack of reaction.

"What I do is none of your business! I don't want you following me anymore, and I sure as hell don't care about some other academy student's _feelings_."

He scoffed- light and mocking, but from Hana's point of view, it felt rather forced. She could feel his chakra quiver and buzz with pent-up anxiety. He continued, the words sounding more and more forced as he went along.

"Jeez, I guess I really must've overestimated your intelligence if you're _trying appeal to me_. This isn't something you can butt your nose into and expect to come out unscathed."

"Was that supposed to be a threat? You're going to have to do better than that, _honestly_ ," Hana said, observing him with a new kind of awe. Man, what had Danzo said to him? Could Fu really be so up his own ass he didn't care anymore? Or was he faking all of this? "Should I be worried you'll back any of this up? So far, you've just been all bark and coming from an Inuzuka, that doesn't really rattle me as much as you think it should."

"You're such a _child,_ " he said haughtily, hands on his hips and looking down at her from the bridge of his nose.

He reminded her so much of a Yamanaka at that moment, with his piercing eyes and swishy high ponytail, that it took her a second to tear that identity away from him. It wasn't who he was- not really. If Fu Yamanaka was anything, it was a person who wore many, many masks. The child in front of her baiting her with petty words was just another one of his personas. She didn't believe it for a second.

"Go home before you do something embarrassing. I'm not about to sit through some stupid sob story about apologies and friendship, Hana. We're _done_ here. I'm not interested in what you have to say anymore. _._ "

He turned his back on her and made an attempt to walk down the alleyway, which was a mistake in itself right there because he accepted her to just roll over and admit defeat. But Hana was nothing, if _not_ childish, so she did the first thing that occurred to her in an attempt to keep him from walking out on her again.

She grabbed his dumb, swishy ponytail and _pulled_.

" _You-!"_

Instead of falling to the ground, like she expected of any twelve year old getting their hair pulled, Fu's head jerked back with a sudden sharp movement, and before she knew it, his hand was digging into hers and he was suddenly facing her, despite her still holding his hair, and he slammed into her with his shoulder in an attempt to shrug her off.

"God _damnit,_ you don't know when to quit!"

He ripped his hair out of her grasp and pushed her with full force- (probably more force a child his age probably could, with the use of chakra,) and made certain that she went flying in the direction of the brick wall behind her, so she'd get the message that he wasn't playing around anymore.

She _got_ the message, but instead of considering the solid wall of brick to the skull as a valid argument, she collided with the brick the same time that she pumped chakra through her body, strengthening it, so that the wall chipped and took damage instead of her bones. In retaliation, she threw herself at the Yamanaka in front of her, standing somewhat shocked at her recovery (and perhaps at his own strength) and she rammed her elbow into his gut, knocking the wind out of him.

"You're so arrogant and pigheaded! You think cutting ties with other people will let you climb the ladder _quicker_?" she huffed, taking a second to catch her breath. "Danzo is going to chew you up and spit you out like you're nothing- and you _are_ in his eyes!"

"You have no idea what you're _talking about,_ " he seethed, and soon enough Hana was blocking a fist aimed right for her cheek, and then another volley of kicks and punches to her side and chest.

The Haimaru brothers joined in, leaping in when the timing was right to nip at heels and snarl to drive attention elsewhere. His shin dug deep into the side of her arm when she blocked him, and she stumbled, catching herself on on a wooden box on the ground beside her before her hands clasped around an edge and she chucked it in his general direction. The thing barely lasted longer than a second, and wood splinters went flying in every direction, as the two of them traded blows to the arms and legs- ducking when necessary and pushing off the brick wall with chakra laced footsteps in order to get higher ground.

"You're such an _asshole!"_

" _God,_ just go home and get lost already!"

Bruises bloomed under skin and hands got raw from punching and blocking so many times, but they persisted. At some point, Hana's hands clipped Fu's arm and left behind little scarlet claw marks. It hadn't been intentional. With all the chakra pumping through her system, her nails had gotten longer and more pointed, the same as Tsume had shown her.

She didn't mean to make him bleed like that. They had paused for just the briefest moment; to watch beads of scarlet drip down his arm and past his fingers...

And then with the outraged cry and a burst of steam, he was back at it again. A tornado of high kicks and skinning movements- all of which put her on the defensive and weakened her already sore arms.

The Haimaru brothers attempted interference, but whatever training Fu had gone through in the past, underneath Danzo's supervision, meant that he was faster than before and she was at a disadvantage. It was by some dumb luck or perhaps their old friendship that he never pulled a kunai on her or attempted to bash her head against the hard concrete (though he had come close) but whatever the case it was, the only blood that had been drawn had been by Hana's hands, which he eventually used against her.

"Oh, _fuck you!_ " Hana wiped furiously at her eyes, which now had blood in them, ( _thanks, asshole_ ) and took a solid kick to the middle of her chest from the distraction.

Blinking, the blood from his arm had stained her vision red, and she could see him panting, frazzled all to hell, struggling to regain some kind of composure. She could just barely see him tucking wild tufts of orange hair back into this ponytail, but he looked like he was failing at it. The fact that the sun had long since set during their fight didn't make her vision problems any better.

She wiped at her eyes again with the corner of her sleeve and sneered at the general direction in which she assumed Fu was. All sense of self-preservation left her, and she opened her mouth without thinking. "Real nice, jackass. They teach you that little trick in _Root_ too? Or did Kabuto show you that on his own time since you're such good _buddies_?"

If any amusement was on Fu's face, besides anger and irritation, it surely bled away at Hana's comment, being replaced by alarm and, most surprisingly, honest fear.

"You shouldn't even know what the hell any of that means. What _organization_ that is. You have no way of _knowing-"_ He took a step back, his eyes wide and looking at her although perhaps not fully seeing her. "There's no _way._ "

 _Damn her and her big mouth, ugh!_ Hana pulled herself to her feet and found her arms shaky and the ground unsteady as she tried to right herself. "Fu, whatever's going on in your head right now, you're _wrong_."

"Are you a _spy?_ " he said, and his tone was icy as he took a step towards her. She could feel a rift open up beneath her feet, and her stomach dropped down below and show no sign of returning. Fu pressed onward. "Is that why you've been around so much? You aren't marked. You shouldn't be aware _. Are you, or are not a spy?!_ " he demanded again.

This time, there was fury and betrayal coating his words. Ironic, all things considered since she had been the one being betrayed when the fight first began.

"You're jumping to _conclusions_ ," she said, pushing herself up, and standing her ground despite the weakness in her limbs and her shaking hands. She found herself on her knees a moment later but still found strength in her voice. "For god's sakes, when the hell do you think I'd have the time to be a freaking spy?! Between being _a child_ in _school,_ and dealing with your shit when would I have _the time!?_ "

The Haimaru brothers bristled at something, a shift in the air, but neither of them paid them any attention.

"I don't know! It sure as hell explains how you know _Danzo_ -sama, and reacted to Kabuto so freakishly-!" He was yelling at her back now, with just as much fervor, and if it weren't for the fact that Fu's chakra was just a low as hers, Hana would have expected another fight coming. As it was, He was panting and just as sore as she was. Eventually, with a warning tone to his voice, as well as that tiny shred of fear she caught of sight of earlier, he asked, "What do you know, Hana? _Tell me_."

"I…" She found herself choking on her words for a moment because this was different than Tenma confronting her and accusing her, this was Fu. Not only was her friend, at some goddamn point in her stupid life, but he was also a _Yamanaka_. The truth could be pried from her lips one way or another, and by the look on his face, the same thought crossed his mind that _very second_.

He sighed, and there was a feeling of finality to that action. Of release. His golden eyes shut closed before he raised his hand. Neither of them said anything.

The Haimaru brothers gave one yip of warning, one last final moment- and the two kids both looked up at their surroundings in confusion. There was some strange shift in the sky, in the air perhaps. Something _wrong_ , all of a sudden-

Hana took Fu's outstretched hand and let him haul her up onto the ground. "What the _hell_ is going on?"

He looked about just as confused as she felt."I don't know, I can't tell-"

There was a trembling in the earth. For a split second, neither of them dared even to _breathe_.

They felt it before they saw it. But it only took a moment for the thing to materialize before them, towering above. It was as if reality had gone sideways for a second, and the blood had remained in Hana's eyes, for what she saw filled the landscape and entire sky with a putrid, _hungry, all-consuming_ _ **red**_ **.**

With a horrific tremble, Hana watched with wide eyes as the creature rose to full stature, it's nine tails materializing through the smog it had summoned, the burning, demon chakra already sending pins and needles shooting out to scorch the soft flesh of her face.

 _No, no no this couldn't be happening! She was still supposed to have a month left!_

With a petrified horror seeping deep into her bones, she had no idea if the words even left her mouth, or if she was speaking at all. When they tumbled out anyway, amidst the screams, and the panic, and sheer terror rising up all around the village at the very same moment.

"Oh _my god,_ " she said, though surely if a god existed in the first place he would not have allowed such a thing to happen at that very moment. If there had been a god, the nine-tailed fox would have been the devil, for even still forming, shrouded in a cloak of smog, it cast a light upon the village at a rate the world had never seen.

It was as if the sun itself had been summoned, standing over the village like the great mythological god of reckoning that it was known to be. In its shadow, Hana was nothing _nothing_ _nothing,_ beneath it.

Less than an ant- less than a _speck of dust_.

It was then that she fully realized the extent of her scheming, because it was then, that the Nine-Tailed Demon Fox awoke with full clarity, threw back its head, and _**screamed into the night sky**_.

The sky lit itself on fire, and chakra rained down upon them, scorching the rooftops, while civilians screamed for help, for **god** , for _anything_. And as she fell to her knees beside Fu, clutching her ears, both of which were bleeding down the side of their face from the sheer sound of that _**thing**_ , Hana truly then, understood, the importance of her placement in this world.

She was nothing in the face of a creature like that. _Nothing._

 _And she had been directly responsible for setting it free a month early._

 **X**

 **End Of chapter 24 ~**

 _Hopefully, this chapter has been worth the wait, lovelies c:_

 _Thanks for reading~! see you next chapter, lol_


	25. Chapter 25 - The Unrelenting Storm

AN: Hey hey hey happy campers, sorry for the wait in updates! this chapter is Rated M for Gore and character death, some parts of this chapter are disturbing! So heads up!

Also! With this chapter, we made it past 150K! Another milestone! PH just keeps getting bigger, and I'm reminded every day of that fact as I worry and grow anxious about going back and fixing parts of it as it gets more bloated and unmanageable. But hooray! I'm still happy for getting this far!

Words: 11, 420

 **X**

 **Chapter 25 - The Unrelenting Storm**

 **X**

Two hours earlier, Uzumaki Kushina and Minato Namikaze were on the verge of becoming parents.

"Listen, just breathe, in and out—do as I do. In and out, _in and out._ You're doing good, Just a little while longer."

The coaching did not ease Minato's nerves at all as he checked and quadruple checked the security seals he placed around the room. Kushina was in the next room preparing for her surgery and being tended to by the Third Hokage's wife and a dozen Anbu, but the single, flimsy wall separating them put his teeth on edge.

Minato dragged a hand through his hair, sighing deeply as he collapsed into a chair next to Shikaku. "Were you this nervous before Shikamaru was born, or am I just overcomplicating things?"

The Nara snorted and leaned back in his seat thoughtfully. "Well, Yoshino and I didn't have the luxury of a pending assassination attempt hanging over our heads…" He chuckled when he saw Minato slump a little in his seat. "Look—with the months of planning you've put into this—you have a better shot of things turning out in your favor, so long as you keep an _even head._ "

Minato winced. "Do you think I'm overreacting too much? I mean… with the stakes so high… I can't stop thinking about what might go _wrong_."

"Then don't think about it. Listen—this is just another kind of battle," Shukaku said, staring the blonde straight in the eyes. "Kushina might be the one carrying the weight, but you have to be there for her. If I learned anything after Shikamaru was born, it's that she's a whole lot more terrified of things going wrong than you are. Don't think about what you might end up having to do—just _do it_. And, hell, I don't know. Bring your wife some ice chips or something. I hear they're great."

"I'll keep that in mind…" The Yondaime shook his head and slowly got up from his seat as he felt Kushina's chakra slowly glide towards the door separating them. He gently pressed a chakra-laced fingertip to a security seal to allow them access, and a disgruntled Biwako came strolling out, Kushina right behind.

"Teal really does not look good on me," Kushina murmured, picking awkwardly at her hospital gown.

"It's not about looking good, it's about functionality," Biwako replied, her arms neatly tucked into her billowing sleeves.

She turned to Minato with a curl in her lips, and it took a monumental effort from him not to flinch away like a scared schoolboy. There was an air about Biwako Sarutobi that that told him that she was _not_ to be messed with.

"You should be on on your guard Namikaze-san, if you feel that rushing a jinchuriki's pregnancy is the only _feasible_ option. I would tell you off a second time about the possible side effects of not allowing the child another month to gestate, but…" She sighed and turned her gaze back to Kushina, her eyes softening somewhat. "Stress can be damaging for the child. You both know what you'll be doing; I cannot stop you no matter how much I protest to this."

"Thank you for your understanding, Biwako-sama." The two women clasped hands in an affectionate manner, but once they broke apart, Kushina sighed. "I wish the baby's godparents could be here. I'm worried what Mikoto must be thinking right now, barred from being here on my _big day._ "

Biwako scowled. "There's no use crying about it—she can visit after the baby is born. When both of you are safe and healthy, and this whole affair can be put to bed once and for all." She cast a side-eye at Minato. "I understand that the baby's godfather is unavailable, correct?"

"Yes…" Minato groaned and rubbed his temples. "I've been trying to contact him through frog-mail, but the last I heard he's relocated to the Land of Hot Springs again. It's—well, it's complicated."

"Complicated," Biwako repeated, her voice flat, "Is one word to describe my husband's student. I would have gone with bull-headed, or _hedonistic_." She shook her head. "I don't know how he ended up with a student like you. When he's back in the country, make sure he gets an earful for immediately dropping the ball, or I'll happily in to step in and _really_ let him have it."

"I'm sure he has a good enough reason not to answer. He's probably up to his shoulders in spies and assassination attempts," Minato argued weakly.

"What, like the kind you're dealing with _now_? You don't think this would take priority?" Biwako shot back, unamused. She gave Minato a level stare. "If you don't have the guts to confront him like a man, send him my way. He knows when to respect _me,_ at least."

Kushina hid her laughter behind her hand, and her shoulders shook even harder when Minato visibly deflated. "I-I'm sorry Minato, It's just so funny to see you get chewed out like this when you're the _Hokage_. God, what have I been missing by keeping you away from Biwako-sama for so long? You two are _amazing_."

Biwako looked at the jinchuuriki with confidence. "It's good to see you laugh, child. Are you ready?"

Kushina's laughter immediately died, and she shuffled her feet anxiously. "W-well, I mean, uh, better late than never, I guess?" She reached out to squeeze Minato's hand, and he returned the gesture. "I think so, Biwako-sama."

"Good, then all we have to do is wait for the arrival of my husband," the elder said, tucking her hands back into her sleeves. The Anbu hovering around the room shifted in position, awaiting the chakra signature of their previous Hokage, while Minato and Kushina traded a few more words and parting gestures.

A seasoned group of medical nurses and doctors filtered in through the door, carrying equipment and medical materials. By the time the more Anbu guards began filtering in—planting themselves in strategically important places in the room—Kushina had already been walked down the hallway by the hand of Biwako, her husband close on her heels. Shikaku conferred with one of the Captains stationed for last minute information, and the Captain saw the Third Hokage first before Sarutobi met the rest of the party

A nod passed between the two men before the Anbu disappeared, and Shikaku inclined his head in respect despite how limited their time was.

"Danzo's defense team is in position outside." Sarutobi held himself steady, no inclination of stress despite the heavy stakes. On his back, he carried a large, red sealing scroll, though the weight didn't seem to bother him, despite him shifting his weight from foot to foot as they stood and talked. "I take it everything so far is going to plan? have there been any detections of outside forces?"

Shikaku let out a steady breath and resisted the urge to put his hands in his pockets. "Not at present, but the minor flicker in chakra we detected hours earlier has raised some more suspicions. Trackers confirm that before the small spike, there was no possible trace to where the source came from. On all accounts, it basically appeared out of thin air and vanished just the same."

The Third pursed his lips and gestured for the Nara to continue following him down the hall as they approached the party preparing for the following sealing procedure. "As much as my experience in the field would like to argue that chakra doesn't simply appear and disappear, we're operating at a disadvantage. There's no telling if the information we've gathered is legitimate or not, or if the small, random spikes our border patrol are picking up are even worth anything. But it is worrisome. If it's an individual capable of completely blocking out their chakra signal, then a dangerous technique may allow someone to infiltrate the village—there's no telling how serious that may end up being."

Shikaku nodded, a grave expression on his face. "It's troublesome, though the few units we've been granted by the Hyuuga and Inuzuka have been more than helpful. Our sensors have been practically pulling their hair out trying to locate a place where the spikes would originate, though even after several months of investigation, only a few hot spots have emerged. Namely, within the village itself."

Sarutobi was silent for a moment, thinking deeply. "Having my student here would have been an advantage... Still no word from him?"

"Radio silence."

They reached the rest of the group, and Shikaku signaled to several Anbu a couple discreet hand signs before the units disappeared into the background of the medical room. Two large hall doors closed behind the men, with several final seals coming to life as the circuit around them was finally completed. The hairs on the back of Shikaku's arms stood on end, but he ignored it as the Hokage approached Kushina, Minato, and his wife, before getting to work and unrolling his massive sealing scroll.

...

"Glad you could make it," Biwako said in passing to her husband, her smile tight with unbidden anxiety. "I suppose it's time to get to work then."

The air grew tighter in the moments that passed. Kushina removed her hand form her stomach and laid back on the bed provided for her and medical officers moved in.

A sweet young nurse with bright blue eyes stood at Kushina's side, squeezing the Uzumaki's shoulder with her gloved hands. In her other hand, she took out a needle and held it up for Kushina to see. "This'll hurt for a moment, but try not to focus on it or let yourself get spooked when the epidural kicks in. After that, you'll lose feeling from about your chest downwards, but everything will be fine so long as you keep your chakra moving and let your body lay naturally as we proceed. The doctors will only take about five minutes during the actual procedure, but if you feel any pain or discomfort, tell us immediately and more medication can be administered. Got that?"

"Y-yeah." Her free hand shot out to capture her husband's, and after squeezing it for some last reassurance, she let go and let him continue setting up with Hiruzen. "I'm ready."

...

A bead of sweat dripped down the side of kushina's temple as she clenched and unclenched her hands by her sides. She could feel the tumultuous swell of chakra within her pitch inside her system and felt the seals on her stomach break with every bit of resistance shown by the Nine-Tailed Fox inside her.

She would _not_ falter. She couldn't let the beast win—not this time. Not _now_.

...

Minato's fingers burnt with excessive use of chakra. He could taste copper in his mouth as he furthered his output and willed his arms to stay steady as Hiruzen, beside him, continued his lengthy battle replacing and stabilizing the network of seals on Kushina. The energy from the fox was almost solid and freely floating in the air as each person within the room fought the heavy overlying presence emanating from the pregnant woman on the operating table. Though the midwives seemed to have the hardest amount of difficulty, Biwako stood with her head held high, and her expression only slightly pained as she nevertheless brushed of the demonic chakra trying to throw her off balance. As Minato tensed and endured as another swell hit him first before leaking out into the rest of the room, he took a moment to look at Kushina's face as she battled just as hard to keep herself steady.

After fighting for so long, they were just at the tail end of the surgery, and even through all the people crowding around Kushina's form, Minato could see the clear outline of something being gently pulled out with gloved hands, and focus of the room behind drawn upon a single, tiny body with a tuft of _red_ hair.

Biwako swaddled the tiny infant in her arms, and carefully took a warm towel to the child's face, wiping his face of fluids and shielding him from the demonic energy in the room with her own chakra. She locked eyes with both parents and a triumphant smile spread over her face.

"It's a _boy_ ," She said, her eyes crinkling.

Minato could hear Kushina's breath hitch, and she stretched out her arms. "C-can I see him? can I see my baby?"

Minato switched his chakra output into one hand so he could softly rest his hand over his wife's to stop her struggling. "Just a few more tests—they need to make sure he's healthy." He looked to the midwife for confirmation. "Right Biwako-sama?"

She nodded, and Minato could almost feel Kushina's disappointment. "...His airways seem to be developed nicely. Though a diagnostic Jutsu seems to show a weakened chakra system to the effects of the Kyuubi's chakra, we anticipated this since you delivered a month ahead of schedule, so there's nothing out of the ordinary about... that..."

Kushina struggled to sit up, and looked at the older woman in confusion as her expression went slack. "Biwako-sama?"

There was a small, tiny spike of chakra in the room—undetectable through the demon's chakra in the air—but Minato caught it. As he sprung to his feet, all he could do was witness as Biwako slid to her knees, and a masked man plucked the bundled infant out of her arms with a rough, uncaring jerk.

Part of him felt like he recognized the intruder, and his grip on the Kyuubi slipped.

"Fourth Hokage Minato, get away from the Jinchuriki. Otherwise, this child's life will end in one minute."

…

 _He got past the barrier. Past the guy… who the hell is he?_

Behind him, medical officers swarmed around the body of the third wife and her assistant, while Hiruzen struggled to keep the seal steady despite the tears in his eyes as Biwako lay dead on the floor.

 _Only space-time ninjutsu could have let someone inside. But that was impossible_ — _there were only a handful of people on the continent were capable of such a technique._

" _Minato_ ," Kushina pleased, inky letters bleeding across her face with every moment he spent sizing up his opponent, frozen with inaction as the man held his infant son ransom. "Save him—don't let him take Naruto!"

Sarutobi's arms shook with force as he pushed the Kyuubi back into submission. The old man's chakra reserves were dipping dangerously low. "They aim to disrupt the seal, you are their Hokage, It is your duty the village to not allow this to happen! Thousands could die at the cost of your decision!"

"Your minute is up," the masked man said, hands flipping through several hand signs. By his side, two perfect shadow clones sprung to life, and the original masked man handed baby Naruto to his copy. "Don't you care what happens to your kid? Your _choice_."

"Please, please please—" Kushina was panting, tears sliding down her face. "Don't let him have Naruto. _Don't do this!_ "

The shadow clone carrying the baby cocked his head to the side. "Your son, or your village. Will you turn your back on your people? Or be the heartless, cold ruler who stands aside and allow your infant son to die at the hands of a stranger?" The clone began to fade away, taking Naruto with him, but Minato could still feel the man's chakra relocate a small distance away, taunting him.

 _Where were the guards? Where were Danzo's men?_

Minato had been backed into a corner; he was damned no matter what he did.

A hand clapped down on his shoulder. Shikaku looked the Yondaime in the eyes. "You're not going to make me repeat myself from earlier now, are you?"

" _Just do it_." Minato breathed, recalling his words from earlier. He glanced between the Masked Man, Kushina, Hiruzen, and sighed. He could feel their eyes on him as he made his decision. "I'm sorry, guys."

And then he was gone.

 **~X~**

Walking back home to the Uchiha compound with Shinko, Izumi, and her dad, Itachi found himself worrying about Hana and Fu, and about the fate of their future friendship if the two of them really did end up getting in a fistfight. He trusted Hana to do the right thing, but part of him still feared that their group of friends would be pulled in different directions if the two of them ended up going different ways. He had only had a real big group of friends for little more than a year, the thought of them turning on eachother made the young heir incredibly uneasy.

"Keep your chin up Itachi-san, they'll be fine," Shinko said, trying to reassure him. But he could tell that her smile seemed weaker and a little forced even under the dim glow of the overhead streetlights. She was worried about them too.

Izumi sighed and brushed her hair over her shoulder. "Hana can handle him—I have complete faith in her ability to take down Fu. I just wish I could've gone with her."

"I should be worried how gung-ho you are about getting into fistfights," Izumi's father muttered, shaking his head. He was an older man with salt and pepper hair and an aged, yet still conventionally attractive face. Under his eye (like his daughter) he sported a small beauty mark. "But then again with what you've told me about this Yamanaka boy, he sounds like trouble."

"Does this mean you support me fighting people? Kicking butt and taking _names?_!" Izumi said excitedly, latching onto her father's arm. "Only if they deserve it, of course."

Kotaru Uchiha sighed and seemed to wilt under the wide, puppy dog eyes of his daughter. "I doubt anything I say will make you listen—you and your mother are too much alike. I keep seeing more and more of her in your each day."

"Aww, dad~" Izumi shot him a bright, close-eyed smile. "You're _such_ a sap."

"Izumi don't be rude to me in front of your friends," Kotaru said, feigning being hurt. "They might think I'm a pushover."

Shinko skipped up to his other side and shot the man a warm smile. "It's okay Uchiha-san, I think you're cool." She glanced at Izumi and her eyes narrowed. "And I'll make sure to keep Izumi-chan out of trouble for you if she knows what's _good for her._ "

"Is that a threat?"

Kotaru smiled and ruffled the top the Suna's girl's hair. "See, this is why you're my daughter's favorite friend. You lead a good example."

Itachi winced slightly as Izumi squawked and immediately started to argue, but he froze in his tracks when the older man leading them immediately stopped, acting as if his whole body had been jolted by a current of electricity. After a few confusing moments, Itachi understood why.

"Daddy? what's wrong, what happened?" Izumi's voice was several octaves higher as she seemed to recognize the defensive posture and expression on Kotaru's face.

The older man turned around as if searching for something, his mouth a deep set frown. "Something's wrong—I can feel it."

As the three children watched with a rising sense of anxiety, several dark cloaked figures darted from the rooftops towards the Hokage monument, and all four of them could tell by their demeanour that whatever was going on involved the Hokage's personal guard. Three whole units of Anbu weren't just meant for decoration, and _more_ streamed in after that. Itachi watched them with a furrowed brow, and he wished (once again, as it was not the first time) that he had his Sharingan to track the shinobi's trajectory, it was a rare moment to ever see an Anbu with the naked eye- whatever caused so many to drop their concealment and sprint across the rooftops of the village obviously meant a great deal.

Kotaru's frown was even more severe, and he began to usher the children in the direction of the Uchiha compound with his hands. "Kids, we should start moving and stay out of the way if it's something bad. I'm sure whatever's happening the Hokage has it under—"

 _ **Ka—BOOM!**_

With an explosion that lit up the fading twilight sky, the party of four watched in horror as the side of the Hokage monument, and several medical buildings under it were engulfed in a blue-green fireball of summoning smoke and flames.

"—Control." Kotaru's sudden loss for words was mirrored but the other three children standing beside him.

"Yeah, I'm sure the Hokage has everything under control, right?" Izumi's face was pale white and she had latched onto her father's arm unconsciously. "What the _fuck_ was that?!"

Kotaru stared down at her, appalled. "Izumi, is that the sort of language your mother and I raised you on?!"

"Hana says it all the time!" she shot back, defending herself. "And now is a pretty damn good time to swear!"

"W-what… what was that?" Shinko stood, shaking like a leaf as a large cloud of smoke and debris spread out over the site of the initial blast. Around them, outcries of other people reacting to the sound of the explosion rang out and a few moments later alarms went off throughout the surrounding area. "What are we going t-to do?!"

"Stay calm—we need to evacuate to a safer area for now. We don't know the full story," Kotaru said, steering the children back towards the Uchiha clan compound gates. They still had several dozen blocks left before even approaching relative safety.

Itachi was still looking in the direction of the blast. Despite the cloud of dust, he could faintly make out flashes of light and the presence of elemental Jutsu being thrown around at high magnitude, even from so far away. "There's something big going on… I can't tell what's happening from this distance."

"You don't _need to_ Itachi-san." Kotaru was urging him and the rest of the children to follow him as other panicked people ran by. "Please, before I have to do something drastic and carry you to your parents, _start moving_ before the situation escalates."

A village-wide siren rang out, louder than ever—reporting that the village was under a _class three attack_ of some sort and _for all individuals to relocate to the nearest safehouse._

Itachi tensed— _was this an attack on the village? Were they going to war again?_ Before a hand descended from above to start pulling him along, and the sound of Shinko panicking brought him back down to earth.

"—My mom and dad, oh my god what about them?" The Suna girl had tears in her eyes and was nearly fighting for Izumi's dad to let go of her arm. "What if they aren't safe? What if they're _looking_ for me? I need to go home right now, please Uchiha-san _let me go!_ "

"I'm sorry Shinko, but your parents trusted me with your safety and this is the best option right now, we can look for your parents after the alarm stops and the village is safe again, but right now you need to stop _fighting me_." Izumi's dad sent a meaningful stare down at Itachi, who he still had a grip on the back of his shirt. "You understand me?"

Izumi was trailing behind them only a few steps and had her eyes planted on where the explosion took place, just below the Hokage monument. "G-guys can you feel that?"

"Feel—?" Itachi stopped in his tracks, ignoring the sudden jerk from Kotaru still trying to tug him to safety, before he _felt it._ A weak stinging sensation on the palms of his hands as he reached out to try and gauge what Izumi was talking about. It started off weak, like the beginning of pins and needles, and then erupted into harsh insect-like bites across his skin—like some sort of invisible force trying to eat him alive. He hadn't ever experienced anything like it before, the closest he could describe similar would have been concentrated _killing intent_ , but there was no reason for this feeling to even _occur_ , and Izumi felt it too…

None of them could recall who said what at that moment, but their thoughts were basically the same.

" _Oh my God._ "

 _A second explosion_ so much more _powerful_ than the first, blasted away the lingering smoke and debris with a resounding shockwave, sending dirt and wind in every direction—

 _ **KA**_ — _ **BOOM!**_

—A large heavy mass rose from the surrounding buildings, gaining height and stature and forming like a mountain crest, shoulderblades and limbs stretching out under the pale night sky, dark in colour but more luminous every gaining second. It took only a moment for everyone to stop what they were doing and simply watch in horror as a behemoth grew from nothing but rubble and ash clouds in the middle of their village, but within that time the Nine-Tailed Demon Fox grew tall enough to stare into the faces of founding fathers of the village and look into the eyes of their Yondaime.

The beast's nine gargantuan tails spread out before him, whipping around the scenery with increasing ferocity as the monster recognized his surroundings, and in a single moment, his fat black gums peeled back to reveal skyscraper-like-teeth, and he threw back his head and _screamed into the open air._

" _KyyyyaaaaaaaAAAAAA_ _ **AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"**_

All four party members were thrown backwards with the sheer power of the Fox's chakra. Itachi could barely bring himself to breathe through the oppressive energy coming off in waves from the other side of the village, and he struggled to find his bearings. Numbly, he could feel the hands of Izumi's father bring him back up to his feet, and the sound of the man doing the same for Shinko and telling them to run, but his mind was racing with the sight of the Nine-Tailed Fox being set loose in the village.

There were so many things that could go wrong—he couldn't process it all. Amongst many thoughts and people racing through his mind, making his sense of dread worsen, he realized _Hana and Fu_ had left school somewhere in the direct area of the blast, and that terrified him more than any Bijuu combined.

 **~ X ~**

 _Chaos. Complete chaos._

The two of them were crouched in their little alleyway, trying desperately to shield themselves from the fire and demonic chakra threatening to cook them alive from the inside out. There was very little protection to be found after part of the building next to them was blown apart, and debris tore chunks out of the building next to it and dug into any soft material nearby.

Fu had his sleeve up to his face to keep the smoke and dust out of his mouth. "We won't survive long hiding here—we'll be crushed!"

"Better that than getting killed by friendly fire!" Hana yelled back, trying and failing to hold onto her ninken for dear life,They were just too big and squirmed too much for her to keep a good grip on them. They were just as terrified as she was. Shinobi of all ranks were throwing everything they could at the fox to keep it distracted, but just as much blew back in their face and threatened to mow down innocent bystanders. She held onto her ninken as another hail of rock came down on all of them, and prayed that they wouldn't end up dead in the gutter somewhere.

"We can't stay here forever, come on!" He grabbed her arms and pulled her along the side of the wall, keeping low to the ground and making sure she kept her head down and her dogs on a tight leash.

The Haimaru Brothers followed slowly behind, disoriented and wobbly from the massive, ever present chakra force throwing off all of their other senses. After Kemuri stumbled and tripped, proving that he couldn't be trusted to move on his own, Hana took the initiative and zipped him up into the front of her jacket to keep him safe, but she was terrified the same thing would happen to Sekimaru or Misuto once they got into the open.

"Come on, come on," Fu murmured, watching for a break in the dust and debris clouds crashing past them. They had to squint to keep the dirt out of their eyes, and could only make out shapes and the rough outline of objects in the dark—most street lights or power from buildings had been shut down or disrupted, and the only light came from emergency lamps on the corner of the street and from Jutsu being thrown around...

...and the Kyuubi, which was the _entire sun_ anthropomorphized and given fox ears and _shitty personality_ , but Hana really wasn't the position to argue at the moment.

Fu was still gripping onto her wrist when they made a break for it— Between the onslaught of energy being thrown around, a small opening emerged and the two of them shot out of the alleyway and vaulted over a pile of rubble, the two remaining Haimaru Brothers right on their heels. They shuffled from one outcropping to another, never daring to hang around wide open areas for long, always making sure to keep their heads down and mouths covered.

At some point, Hana stumbled—Her knees skinning against the ground as she fell forwards, and she looked back for a moment only to stare into the wide, glossy eyes of _half_ of a human corpse laying on the side of the street. The other half had been bisected and his legs were on the other side of the road.

Hana could see signs of struggling in the dust around the top half of the man's body, indicating that the man had been alive and trying to get to safety before bleeding out. He had a bloody Chunin vest on, and she wondered if _she could have recognized his face beneath the soot and grime—_

"Keep going!" Fu's grip on her arm pulled her out of spiraling out of control and he dragged her further down the street, refusing to let her slow down until they were back into relative safety and they could catch their breath.

"T-This is—" Hana painted, coughing out some of the dust from her lungs. She looked back in the direction of where they left that poor man's corpse. "—A Fucking _nightmare_."

A tiny, shrill voice in the back of her mind told her that the man wouldn't have died if she didn't mess around with the Kyuubi attack, making it happen a month early. It was because of _her_ doing. _She was the one responsible._

"Just _keep it together._ " Fu wiped dirt out of his eyes with the back of his hand. He still had a hard grip on her arm, but she wasn't about to bring up the fact that he was shaking and seemed to need an anchor just as much as she did at that moment.

Kemuri wriggled in her jacket, and she readjusted the zipper to let the dog have more air. "What are we going to do? There's no safe place to hide out in—the nearest bunker is ten blocks away, and t-the fox is in between us and the Hokage monument."

Fu pursed his lips. "I think I might know a place."

"I doubt it's as safe as you think, if the place gets stepped on—"

"It has a bunker, but I don't know how deep down it goes." He seemed to think it over heavily, before making a decision. "If I bring you there, it'd be a gamble if we'll even make it in alive. I might even end up dying in the process."

"You think it's even worth it?"

He scowled. "We're going to die out here if we don't get shelter, this place is close. But you can't ask any questions when we get there. Promise?"

Hana held her breath. _If this place was what she thought it was.._. "Which way do we go?"

"Down the street and to the left, when it's clear again..."

They made their way through the dust clouds, keeping an eye on tripping hazards and the Haimaru Brothers, until they eventually made their way onto the next street. There were bodies further down, littered amongst fallen buildings and old brickwork, and Hana recognized a single, still standing structure in the middle of all the carnage, likely still standing from support seals stuck to the thick beams holding the building up after so many years. It was a ninja structure but disguised to look like an old smoke shop. And it was a _giant target_ standing out in the middle of an _open area._

The two of them could still hear screams further down the street, and they looked at each other, trying to decide if making a break for the building was really worth it in the end.

"It'll be _suicide_ , there's no cover for us." Hana kept her back to the building they were huddled up against, and she had one eye on the Kyuubi as it thrashed around and batted shinobi out of the sky like flies. It didn't seem like anyone was capable of handling the fox at its most enraged, it was like fighting a vengeful god, and she just came back to the fact that it was all _because of her_. The guilt was eating her alive.

Fu kept his eyes on the building, waiting for an opening that wouldn't come. "We can make it. I know we can."

"Yeah, if someone gave us a miracle—" Hana pulled Fu back the same time giant chains lashed out from nowhere, lighting up the street below and blinding them with their brilliance.

"What the hell was that!?" Fu exclaimed, shuffling back as the two of them watched with a horrified awe as more Adamantine links filled the air and wrapped around the Kyuubi's legs like sentient vines, locking it in position.

"I take back what I said!" Hana blinked back tears. "Oh my god, those are from _Kushina._ she's still alive and fighting like a _champion_ , I don't know how but god _damn_ — _!"_

"I have no idea what you're talking about," Fu interrupted, elbowing her in the side. "But stay focused, we need to get inside that building!"

"R-right!"

She let Fu drag her to the edge of their shelter and readjusted her hold on Kemuri in her sweater. They continued to watch as the Kyuubi struggled against his restraints, tails lashing out and striking the ground with deadly force, nails digging into cement and topping buildings, sending hot flaming debris in every direction as the beast wrestled for control.

Demon chakra in the air doubled and forced them onto their stomachs as the air went past boiling, and bare skin turned red and burnt on contact. The two of them could barely withstand the pressure the fox's chakra was putting on their systems, and inside Hana's jacket, Kemuri went limp and unresponsive as the small dog passed out and resembled closer to a beached and dying fish than a canine. On the ground, the two larger puppies barely fared any better.

"Shit—!" Fu pulled back as a piece of stone flew out and hit his shoulder dead on, bouncing back after it came in contact with bone and sending blood and pebbles in every which direction. Hana shielded her face in time not to get any in her eyes (once was enough).

"Are you okay?" Hana gently peeled back the sopping wet cloth around Fu's shoulder, and winced as she saw bone and muscle moving in the gash on his shoulder.

"It's bad, right?" Fu's eyes were fixed on the ground as he gently cradled his bad arm to his chest. His face was pale, even though it was caked with dirt and sweat.

Hana shuffled closer to him and tore at the remaining part of his sleeve, tearing a strip off and winging it around in her hands, before tying it around the crook of his armpit, stemming the flow of blood. "Sorry I don't know any healing Jutsu."

He hissed as she tied the knot, and blinked away tears as he shook his head and tucked his arm into his robes, keeping it secure. "I-It's okay. It's not like you could've seen this happening."

Hana recoiled as if struck, an icy ball forming in her chest. "G-god, this is a _nightmare_. "

"You said that," Fu murmured, pulling himself back up and shuffling to a safer spot behind cover. Hana sat down next to hm, and the two of them could see the Smoke Shop and the Kyuubi fighting dozens of glowing adamantine distance between their cover and their potential way to safety felt like a million miles away.

Hana wiped her cheek with the palm of her hand and watched with a growing sense of dread as the Kyuubi encroached closer to their hiding spot. She glanced at Fu's shoulder, and then her Ninken trying desperately to hide in the folds of her jacket, their noses pressed into her side.

They were doomed. Hana cursed and shielded her head as bricks went flying as another building toppled over nearby. She made eye contact with Fu as she shielded him and the Haimaru Brothers with her body as rock scattered in their direction.

Wincing through the pain, Hana sniffled and bit her lip. "This never should've happened, I'm _so sorry_."

Fu swallowed and watched over her shoulder as the Fox lingered closer. He lowered his gaze and sighed once the rocks stopped falling, helping her sit back down with his good arm. He nodded in agreement, his eyes heavy. "I'm sorry too."

 **~ X ~**

"The **Y҉e͞l̛low F̛lash͠ ̧o̵f̛ ̨the̛** hidden **le͏av̡e̶s͠,** too slo **w̛ ̛to** catch **a̸ ̶si͏m̕** ple kidnapper. I'm getting seco **ndha͟n͡d͠** _embarrr_ _ **a͡ss҉m̛**_ _ent_ just loo **king҉ ͝a͘t̀** you."

Minato tore after the man the second the orange, spiral mask disappeared from his line of sight, and they were speeding across Konoha's rooftops with enough velocity to make the skin on Minato's face burn. "Get back here!"

"How _**di̕s̷appo̴int͝in͡**_ _g_." The orange mask phased out of existence a second before Minato could reach him with a carefully timed Hiraishin, and Minato could feel his hands shake with uncontrolled frustration. Thirty yards away, the black cloaked man appeared again, with a sobbing baby in his arms, and the clone waved a hand in front of the child as if the sound seemed to annoy him. "I guess ' _like fat_ _ **her҉ ͝li͝k**_ _e son_ ' really do **ȩs̡ ͝a͞p͠p͘l̨y ͜h̨e̕r̀e**. You're both so _anno_ _ **yin͟g̴ an̴**_ d _unnece_ _ **s͢s̀a̷ry͝**_ "

The pitch of the man's voice was warbled and awkward, youthful at some times and deep and guttural, like that of an old man at other moments. Minato couldn't get a grasp on how some part of this person was worth recognition. There had to be something though, _what was it?_

Behind him, the Kyuubi thrashed around Konoha with an unfocused aggression; there were security seals set up through the area to contain the Bijuu to only a third of the village, including the Hokage monument, and there were teams set up and specially trained for this exact scenario, but part of Minato curled in shame. Even with months of preparation and word detailing what would happen thanks to an informant, the number of lives lost weighed heavily on his shoulders. At least he knew with certainty that the Third was prepared to deal with the Bijuu and he trusted Shikaku to keep the situation under control—at least until he got back to them.

Minato approached at a slower pace, he had to find out who this one-eyed, teleporting Shinobi was. Something didn't set well with him. "Tell me who are you are."

"Minato, ple **a̕s͡e, ̢h̡a͠v** e some sel **f̡-r̢es̴p̶** ect." The man slowed to a stop as if to humor him, holding baby Naruto in the crook of one arm. "Hav **e ͘you̵ g͜iv** en up already? **F͘i̢ǹąll̴y̨ me** t someone too f **f̢as̵t ̴f̛o҉** r you to catch **up͟ t̕o̡?** What a _**s̡h̴**_ _ame_."

"You hold all the cards here, Shinobi-san," Minato's fingers twitched, a thunder god kunai flipping between each digit, ready to be thrown. He curled his anger in on itself and let it grow cold and heavy in his chest. His eyes stayed fixed on his son. "There must be a better name for me to call you."

"You mi **s҉und͡erst** and o **ur͞ r̢ela͞t̢i͜ons** hip h **er͟e ͘** Minato. **̶I̛'͜m ńot ͠h͏e͟r** e to talk." He shifted the weight of the infant in his arms and knew exactly the focus of Minato's attention. He tilted his head to the side, inquisitively. "D **o͞ y̵o͟u ͏k̨n̡ow ẃ** hat the sound of a ba **b̀y h̷ittin̸g** cement sounds like?"

Minato's blood went cold. "Don't."

"A que **st̨i̴o̵ń ͟fo̧r ̧a q̷uesti͡** ion, it's fair game," despite the changing pitch of his voice, the mask man's persona almost seemed to get more childish in appearance, he tiptoed along the edge of a tall building and seemed to take pleasure in needling Minato with pointless, playful dialogue. "I **m͡e҉a͡n͞,̀ ͘y̷o** u're probably **f͢a̛st enơu** gh to catch **̢l̵it͞tle m̀in̷** -mi **n j** r. **he̡re̢ b͝ef** ore he h **it t͜h̶e̕ groúnd,̛** but t **h҉er̛e҉ ͘h̛a̧ve ̀b͜een o̧t͜h͟ȩr̸ t͡im̀e̛s ̶w̷he̢n th͡e ͏Y҉e̕ĺl̕òw ͝F͟la͝sh w͠a̶sn't fas͏t͟ enough** to make a difference, hasn't he? **How͠ t̴rągi̧c ̢w͠o͠ul͝d it̸ ͜** be for him to look **h͜ìs ͞ẃįfe** in the ey **e̸s ͞a҉n** d tell her he didn't **m̶ak͝e i͢t in ̸ti̛me͜**."

Any argument died on Minato's lips as the masked man held up the little bundle in his arms and held him threateningly over the ledge, pretending to lose his grip only to regain it again with a laugh whenever Minato tensed to jump after it.

"You really are re **al͘l̴y ar͝e r̢e̸a̵dy̵ ́t̨o br̷eak yo͡** ur ne **cķ lea̴ping ̕a̢f̡t͞e** r this guy, aren't **you͢**?" the bundle was safely brought back the to stranger's arms and he looked pitifully down at Minato with his one eye.

Minato's voice was desperate, pleading. "Why are you doing this?"

" _ **W͜hy a̵r̷e̴ y̕o̶u do̵i͝ng thiś**_?" the clone parroted back, but to the gurgling infant in his arms instead. "You **s͢h́òu̢l͟d͢ ̕k͘n͡o** w this guy has a ra **ṕ s͟heet-͞** I bet **͞h͟e͡'̢d bé ́à ̢t̕e** rrible father. **He c̕ań't̷ táke͢ c͢are ͢a ͠vil͘l͏ag̨e** , you think he ca **n ͜ta̧ke̶ c͜ar͡e of ̨hi͟s ͏ķìds**? I **thi̢** nk _not_."

Minato threw a Hiraishin and teleported behind him, only for the clone to disappear and pop up another thirty feet away again. "Why are you targeting the hidden leaf?"

"I co **uld s̀a̛ý I͡ d̵i̢d̴ i̕t o͏n ̀a͟ w̨h** im, or that I pl **anne̷d̨ ҉it̕,̡ ̶or th̴a** t it's _war_." The clone reappeared further away from him, drawing him closer to the Kyuubi wreaking havoc in the village, and bringing the small bundle in his arms up higher, with each building he appeared on. " **O̷ŕ ͡t̷h̨at it's̵ ͞f** or peace."

Minato flew after him, right on his heels, and the two of them soon found themselves running across the side of the Hokage monument perpendicular to the ground, while the Nine-Tailed Fox's tails carved gouges in the hardened stone beneath them.

The masked man stopped as he reached the second Hokage's chin, and Minato stared him down. "Well? What is it then?"

In the single eye of the shadow clone, Minato swore he saw a single crimson eye smile back at him. " **I ̼̝̣̤̦̙̰r̙͙̪̮̦̯eal̨͕͍̙ḽ̦y̘̬just͉̞̞̞ w̞̘͉͉̱antt́ ̫͓̯̩̙t͉̭̼̼o͈̫̘̘̯̠ see̛̪ you** _**̣̫̖͢s҉̫ṵf̪̞̻͍́f̴̜̹͙̳er̶.**_ "

And then the clone dissipated, and the baby slipped from his arms, falling hundreds of feet down below.

Minato dove after him. " _NARUTO!_ "

 **~ X ~**

There were frogs and animal summons guiding people to safe houses. The sight would have been almost comical if the giant fox standing over them didn't make Izumi shake with fear. Her father was the only lifeline her, Shinko and Itachi had, and he pulled them down the street, past smoldering buildings and corpses with a single minded focused.

"Da-Daddy, please, slow down, you're cutting off the circulation of m-my arm."

Shinko and Itachi were right up again, urging them forward, both children suffering small cuts and abrasions. Kotaru shook his head at his daughter and continued on. "We can't slow down, we're still in the path of the fox. Any moment we could—"

 _ **CRASH—!**_

The nearest building blew apart from a single glancing contact with one of the Kyuubi's tails and wrought iron and debris flew through the air.

"Run, run!" Izumi felt a tendon in her wrist snap as her father pulled her forward, pushing her with all his might as telephone wires and poles rained down upon them. There was a sickening squelching sound, and the dust cleared, Izumi was on her knees and wiped the dirt out of her eyes when she heard Shinko's sharp intake of breath, and a deep retching sound come from the back of her throat.

Itachi's' eyes were fixed on Izumi's face, and his skin was pale white as he bent down to try and help her up. His hands were shaking. "D-don't look behind you."

Her head was spinning, and she could feel the sensation of warm liquid seeping through her shoes and into her socks from behind. "W...what? B-but my dad—"

Itachi took another forceful step towards her, and at this point, she could make out the image of Shinko crying and looking like she was on the verge of throwing up. " _Don't. Look_. _Back._ "

Izumi's face went blank, and everything came back to her. She turned her head—

"Izu...mi…."

"DADDY!" Her breath came in shortened gasps as she crawled as close as she could to the bloody heap of metal poles and torn flesh in front of her. His chest was bleeding profusely, there were wood splitters and wires tearing through his limbs, searing through muscle and brickwork half burying him into the ground, but Kotaru's eyes stayed fixed on his daughter even though he should have been long past dead.

 _Oh God, how was he still alive?!_

Izumi screamed, her hands flitting from each object pinning him to the ground to the other, desperately trying to free him. "No, no, no, no, nO NO NO!"

By some miracle, or curse, his consciousness had not given way and he was still able to draw breath, through his throat gurgled and each breath down his lungs only seemed to make the gaping wound in his chest weep even more. He wasn't thinking enough to even notice it.

His fingers—the wrist broken and the meaty flesh of his arm partially missing— twitched as if he attempted to move it again, but the limb would not listen to him. " _Izu...mi_ …"

" _This can't be real_ , Daddy _plEASE_ NO!" Itachi and Shinko desperately tried to drag her back, to keep her from staying out in the open in case something else fall on them, but Izumi wouldn't let them. She shook Shinko off and elbowed Itachi in the gut, and when he caught her arm and still tried to keep his grasp on her, she punch him in the face and scrambled back to her father, tears in her eyes. "He's my dad! _He's my dad!_ We can't leave him! I won't let you _!_ "

A deep, guttural groan left Kotaru's blue tinged lips, and his chest shuddered around the pole that impaled him. His mouth moved but no sound came.

Izumi crawled closer to him, ignoring the debris falling down around them as people ran and hid for cover. Her tiny pale hands reached out to touch his face. "I'm here Daddy, I'm here— I'm not leaving without you. I won't, I swear, I love you, _I love you so much."_

Another rattle, this one seemed to bring him great pain, and he winced and closed his eyes. Izumi cupped his face with her hands, ignoring how much blood and gore seemed to soak into her clothes.

She could hear Shinko and Itachi shouting at her as another building collapsed nearby, but ignored them and endured the debris that rained down on her, desperate to stay with her father. "What are you trying to say? I'm here, I'm _here_."

A single eye fluttered lazily open, and with the last air in Kotaru's chest, he spoke. "K…eep… G..o...ing..."

"W-what? No, _no_ , I don't want to leave, I—" Izumi's sobbed, her hands falling to her lap as the light faded from her father's eyes, and she was left staring into the face of a corpse. She shook her head vehemently, and desperately clawed at him, pawing at his face, hoping, _desperately hoping_ for him to come back to her. "NO! You can't do this! Please, _dad_ , what about me? What about mom?! _You can't do this, it's not fair!"_

She fought as Itachi and Shinko pulled her away and down the road to safety, but her eyes stayed wide open and she stared at the last spot she saw her father. Dozens of corpses passed her vision, but all of them blurred in comparison, and the world went red as her vision spun with a newly awakened Sharingan. It was only after she couldn't see him anymore that did she finally stop struggling and gave into the tears spilling over her cheeks.

 **~ X ~**

" _Shit, sHIT._ " Hana spat out part of a tooth and immediately lost sight of it as it got picked up by the wind and carried off who knows where. The side of her face was numb after being knocked to the ground, but she spat the remainder of the molar out and swallowed the spit and blood in her mouth like it was a regular occurrence.

They were completely exposed and the wall they had been pushed up against had crumbled over the tremors and wind blasting down on them from above. The Kyuubi thrashed and howled, and compared to it, the shinobi desperately attempting to combat it were like ants nipping at the heels of a god. She could hear it's every breath, in and out, hot and heavy, and the blistered skin on the one side of her face nearest to the demon was wrinkled and taut. She could feel her hair curl and smoke, the leather of her jacket cooking her from the inside out.

"Come on, _Come on_ , further! We have to make it now!" Hana urged Fu forwards, one arm above her eyes to shield her face from the heat coming off the demon fox. She kept her gaze down on the ground, keeping an eye on her footing.

The smoke shop, the safe haven that still somehow remained standing despite all the abuse it had gone though; It was a couple yards away from them, safety was just within their grasp. It felt like miles with the wind battering them from every angle, making each step take a battle and each moment out in the open a risk.

Kemuri lay listless in her jacket, and she held Misuto under her other arm, but Hana turned her head back and saw her third Ninken struggle against the force of the wind, pushing him back in the opposite direction, too small to fight against it.

"We won't make it if we go back!" Fu shouted at her, his voice carried away by the galeforce. "Leave him!"

"You better be fucking kidding me _!_ " she snapped back, and though she was so close to safety, and Fu had only just reached the edge of the shop, she started to turn. "There's no way in hell I'd abandon one of the Haimaru Brothers. _No way!_ "

Fu held his bad arm close to his chest and leaned up against the side of the building to shield himself against the wind. "He' not going to _make it_ Hana, you'd rather take the other two dogs down with you, trying to save the third? Be more _objective!"_

"I'd be leaving him for dead—I'd rather _die than do that, you heartless prick!_ Sekimaru depends on me!"

He was shouting his voice hoarse to combat the sound of the wind. "You aren't thinking rationally! We'll _all fucking die_ if you stay out there and draw attention! You're a freaking walking target!"

"Who fucking cares! You don't even know if we'll be able to get inside anyway!" She yelled back at him at the top of her lungs. "I'm not going to die knowing that Sekimaru bit the dust knowing that I turned my back on him like some spineless coward! I don't care if you're against me! _I'm not leaving my dog behind_."

"Fine! Oh my god, I'll do it, just get over here!" Fu pushed himself off the wall, ignoring the trail of blood he left behind, and grabbed the front of Hana's jacket and pulled her towards the safe shelter of the building, rocketing off with a small boost of chakra in the direction of her dog.

Hana set down Misuto as she huddled under the doorway of the shop, bracing her shoulder against the building's tall, sturdy doors. They wouldn't budge. "Fu? How do you plan on getting in again?"

"There's a seal hidden under one of the panels!" he called back, a small, shaking dog clutched to his chest as he slowly made his way back to them. The two of them huddled in the small enclosed shelter of the doorway, and the Haimaru Brothers pressed their heads against their legs and closed their eyes.

"Come on, _come on_." Her fingernails scratched against the wood of the door, until they clipped the hard edge of a loose panel and she frantically tore it off. Underneath, the Kanji for ' _penitence_ ' was painted on the old wood foundation in black, faded ink. Knowing ahead of time that some seals could be rigged to blow up if the wrong person tried to use them, she made sure to keep her hand far away from the Kanji in case she accidentally triggered it. "Okay, what do I do now?"

"Give me a second," Fu panted, clutching his bad arm with his good one. There was more grime in his hair and on his clothes than before, and Hana swallowed and tried to keep her gaze focused on his face instead of the bloody, open wound on his shoulder. He motioned for her to scootch over and let him by, and she pressed herself up against the doorway as much as she could to let him past. The foundation of the building shook with the sheer force of the wind howling around them, pressing down on them from above.

While the overpowering feeling of demon fox energy completely blocked out any other trace of chakra, Hana saw, rather than felt, Fu press a chakra-laced finger to the kanji, and the doors swung open.

She stumbled forward, and it took a moment for Hana's eyes to adjust to the light inside the smoke shop. There was tiling from the ceiling broken and scattered around, parts of the second floor had already caved in and smashed aisles of strongly scented herbs scattered across the ground, making it hard for Hana and her ninken to breathe. Fu left the door open behind him, and limped into the middle of the room, barely bothered by the heavy, overpowering scent of sage and pepper making Hana's eyes water.

The building shook around them, parts of the ceiling falling as it grew more intense. Hana held onto her dogs for dear life. "This place could come down _any minute_."

"Help me move these shelves then!" With a grunt, Fu began pulling cedar boards and drywall one handed. "Underneath the floorboards is a hatch to a tunnel, I open that and we're set."

Hana got to work next to him and did what she could to lighten the load, taking out heavier beams and supports, but each time she did, more roofing and debris came down on them. she coughed until she could taste drywall in her mouth, and she wiped the white powdery material out of her eyes. "It's too much, we won't be able to clear it out in time."

"Will you just keep working?" Fu snapped, chucking a piece of stone behind him, not caring where it landed. The Haimaru Brothers jumped and skirted around the moving piece of stone, eyeing Fu with wary eyes. "I get that you might be tired, but some of us actually want to stay _alive_."

"Yeah okay, _sure_ ," Hana muttered, digging around with her bare hands, dragging chunks of ceiling out of the rubble.

The more she watched the caved in roof, the more she felt uneasy about the whole thing as the roof continued to cave in, the Kyuubi outside shaking the whole building with the massive tremors it was causing. She could feel it's chakra move lazily towards them, the two of them working as if their backs were to a massive glowing sun.

"I just don't think we're going to make it to that hatch in time before the building comes down or the Kyuubi steps on us. It's getting closer."

Fu whirled on her, fists clenched by his sides. "Then we're dead, Hana. _We're dead._ Do you _want that_?"

"Of course not!" she shot back defensively. "But we could always make a break for it and try somewhere else! We aren't going to get anywhere here, chucking around rocks like this."

Fu growled in frustration and ignored her, going back to work with a frenzy, using his bad arm to pull heavier pieces of ceiling out of the way. "Fine, forget it. Go on your own if you want to, but I'm _staying here_."

"Stop it, you're just going to hurt yourself more," chided Hana, wincing as the torn flesh in his shoulder moved in all the wrong ways as he struggled on his own to lift part of a broken shelf. She moved in to stop him before he bled everywhere. "Come on, let me handle that before you make a mess."

The Haimaru Brothers whined and watched out the open door as the Kyuubi moved closer to them, it's tails lashing behind it as it took a step backward, closer to their building.

He glared at her and refused to hand it over. "No, I've got it. Take your stupid dogs and get out of here if you're so terrified, I shouldn't have even brought you to this building in the first place."

Hana gaped at him. "That isn't fair and you know it! I want you to live just as badly as you do! I just don't think this place is an option anymore." She took the shelf out of his hands before he ended up hurting himself, but he struggled to let go. "Arguing isn't going to get us anywhere, I'm sorry your idea didn't pan out, but so long as we have some time left we should _use it while we still can_."

 _ **BO—OM!**_

The two of them yelped and fell to the ground as the massive back paw of the Kyuubi stomped down right next to the front door, blocking off their escape. The building shook with an almighty roar as the beast's tails brushed over the roof, knocking the second story off its support and shaving the walls down with ease.

Hana and Fu stared up and saw the moon,, in all its brilliance, dwarfed by a glowing hot fireball of demon chakra and hatred, ensnared by hundreds of links of adamantine chains, digging into its fur and choking the life out of it as it struggled for dear life. So close up, the two of them were knocked aside by the sheer power and into a crumbling wall, dirt and drywall flying in every direction, blinding them to the vibrant red inferno of energy struggling to maintain superiority over its chains.

"Fuck, _fuck!_ "

Hana desperately clung onto the Haimaru Brothers for dear life as more of the building came down around them. The wind battered her from all sides and twisted her in every direction, forcing her down until she was tossed outside with an uncaring ferocity. She raised her head a moment later to look for where Fu must've landed, but he was nowhere to be found.

" _Hana!"_

 _There—!_ His orange hair was swallowed up by the light of the Nine-Tailed Fox, and she reached out to grab him once he cleared the remains of the building, but he was taking so long, and couldn't maneuver right with that bad shoulder of his, and—

"No, no, _no, you can make it, come on!_ "

Hana was on her feet, but another blast of wind sent her to the ground again, tasting dust as the Kyuubi's tails lashed out behind him, striking the building and sending bricks falling everywhere, _in every direction_.

The last thing she saw was orange hair and falling bricks before she too was swallowed up by falling debris.

The back of her head met hard cement and her world...

went...

 _dark._

 **~ X ~**

"G-God…Damnit minato, I swear to Amataseru, if you don't end up with Naruto in your arms I will haunt you from beyond the grave until my spirit gives out!" Kushina grit her teeth and forced whatever chakra was still in her system into her legs, pulling on the adamantine sealing chains wrapped around the torso of the Kyuubi.

"Kushina, just hold it for a little longer!" Sarutobi seemed to be just as poor off as she was, Kushina had just had a small human being pulled out of her and then sewn back up again. Was he asking _her_ to hold on? Hiruzen was pale enough to be a corpse already.

Kushina shifted uncomfortably and watched out of the corner of her eye as Anbu fell against the two cloaked figures phasing through them. At this point, it would just be the two of them, Shikaku, their masked attackers, and the _fox_. Whichever one held out the longest would be the winner, but not by much.

" _Come on_! Give up already!" Chakra chains wrapped around her arms, Kushina took the last of her energy and pulled the Kyuubi closer to her with all her might, tearing the stitches in her side to smithereens, but gaining ground as the beast slid onto his knees and lurched forward. His eyes glowed with a manic, crimson light, but whatever Shikaku had done to the masked man moments before had broken whatever hold the Kyuubi had been under. _This anger was all its own._

By her side, Hiruzen stiffened. "I may not have enough chakra to seal the full Bijuu back inside you."

"That's fine!" she answered, jerking her chains with a tone that implied that _no, it really wasn't,_ but she wasn't about to elaborate because she had her hands full at the moment."Just do whatever you can to get most of him back in me and I can sort the rest out!"

A heartbeat- _then two,_ passed. Hiruzen's chakra swelled and burnt as he guided the demon chakra back into the half-ruined seal on her stomach, and the Yin half of the Bijuu was torn from its body and pulled inside her with _an ear piercing_ _**screech.**_

Kushina was panting, curled in on herself and her white hot seal. The Third's arms were shaking, burnt beyond recognition, his fingers blackened and barely looked recognizable. The old man's eyes shone with unshed tears, and the two of them made eye contact as the Kyuubi screamed and lashed against its restraints, half of it missing. Their only saving grace were the Shinobi distracting it and using their own jutsu on it to keep it secure at ground zero, and the two of them owed those men and women more than just an accommodation. They were running on fumes, _any little bit helped them in the end_.

Kushina grunted, holding the stitches on her side with one hand. Hiruzen pulled himself back to his feet, and he nodded at her. "One-half down, another half left."

"S **orry, b́u̶t͝ ͞I c̷a͡** n't let you **g͡o͠ ̴any͝** _further_ ," a voice right behind her said, before she was punted across the open area and her chains immediately dissipated, breaking up around her as Kushina went flying through a wall and came out the other side, dazed and profusely bleeding from the torn stitched in her abdomen.

" _You!_ " Hiruzen dove towards the Masked man with a vengeance, Nine tailed fox forgotten, as the man responsible for his wife's murder stood in his direct path towards saving the village. His stance was weak, desperate, but determined as he lunged toward his attacker head on.

Shikaku had broken the hold the man had on the Kyuubi and had dissipated his second shadow clone so only one target remained, but he phased through each attack Hiruzen unleashed upon him. Clipping through jutsu after jutsu, punch and kick, he was a wraith, constantly moving, dodging and weaving through attacks, even as Kushina brought herself back to her feet and turned her Adamantine chains on him.

" **Do̧ y͘ou̕ ͡** kn **o͘w҉ ͘h͏** ow **͡l̕on҉g͘ ͟** I've waited for _th_ _ **i̢s̡ ̶m͘o͜m̵**_ _ent_?!" the masked man's voice pitched from high to low, always unstable and unrecognizable, but even more so as he gained momentum, swinging around and kicking the Third in the back as he dodged a blow that phased though his shoulderblade a second too late.

Kushina dragged herself out of the rubble, clutching her weeping side with her arm to keep herself from falling to pieces. "What is your problem?! _Why us?_? Why attack our village?"

The masked man twisted Sarutobi's arm until it audibly popped, and shoved the old man to the ground, kicking him in the side until he stayed down. He turned to Kushina, and looked her in the eyes with his single, burning red iris. "Of **al͜l̛ the ͟p͝e͡oplé w** ho forgot, I exp **ecte̡d͞ mơr̴ȩ fr̢** om you _k_ _ **u͞s͡hi̶na͜**_."

She could feel reality bend in on itself. _Oh god—Sharingan? How?!_ She recognized the feeling instantly, but she didn't have the chakra to shake it off. _Not now, not now!_

" _Wh...why?_ " It was like she was floating away from her body, a ghost occupying a liminal space as the masked man walked towards her. His cloak filled the entire night sky, and the sounds around them faded into obscurity. She felt her limbs moving on their own accord and was powerless to stop them. Her hand no longer pressed against her town stitches, and if she were more lucid, she could have sworn she could feel blood drip down her legs onto the hard pavement. "What have we ever done to you?"

" _W_ _ **h͠at h̶av҉e̡**_ _n't you d_ _ **o͠n͘e?**_ " The words echoed around her without a source, working its way into her brain with a cold-edged fury. She could feel the stranger's bitter resentment in her chest, and when she stared forward where she expected to see that damnable familiar mask, she saw twisted skin and an empty eye socket staring back.

The face of her husband's student bared his teeth at her, tears dripping down his chin, his arms soaked with the viscera of the men he had just murdered in cold blood.

Her heart stopped dead in its tracks. This was a genjutsu, it could be real, and yet—There was no denying how the village had been infiltrated so well. "Obito, what _happened to you?_ "

A manic, chilling smile spread across his lips, pulling at the fresh scars on his face. "I' **m͘ ͠no͟t t́hę ͝k** id you conveniently rem **ember fo̢** ur years _too late_. You h **av̛e ab͜solu̕** tely _no fuck_ _ **ng͝ ͜id́ea**_ _ **.**_ "

"T-this isn't you, Obito doesn't _sound like that_ ," Kushina pleaded, falling to her knees. The genjutsu was slowly squeezing the life out of her, making it difficult for her to breathe, her vision swam. "I'm sorry, I'm so, so sorry, but this isn't _right,_ Obito, you should _know that_ , _please_." She was desperate, staring up at a stranger as the sky bled red and the moon shone with the light of the sharingan. " _You were better than this._ "

From his eye, a deep and endless whirlpool pulled reality itself in as he reached for her, light and darkness bending to his will, and Kushina found herself staring into a never ending abyss as she fell, deeper and deeper.

She felt herself being pulled forward, and her hair whipping the side of her face, even as the Genjutsu broke and she felt the distant pull of her husband's chakra appear seconds too late to tear her away, Obito's voice rang in her ears, clear as a bell in her mind and sharp as a jackhammer, chipping away at her.

" _ **You̡ t̀houg͡ht ͘w͢ơng̷."**_

~ X ~

An: End of chapter 25.


	26. Chapter 26 - The Fallout

An: I'm trying to get back into the habit of updating every other weekend! Hopefully I can stick to it! But if not, please forgive me… I am in the process of editing and fixing up old chapters, so there's some good news there!

Side note! I'm really sorry if that last chapter with Obito's speech gave anyone trouble! I'll be going back and refining the text distortion, I use it to symbolize Madara taking over his brain, but I might go back to just using bold so you guys can read it better. Sorry for any trouble!

Edit: Thanks for FreelanceBum for beta'sing, I owe you my entire freaking LIFE dude, I'll be thanking you from beyond the grave

M for character death and (minor) gore, sorry!

Word Count: 15,536

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~ X ~

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Chapter 26: The Fallout 

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~ X ~

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It had to be some sort of Genjutsu. Her chains fells to the ground like dead weight and Kushina's arms reached out towards the masked man as he flew towards her. Her mouth moved but no sound came out, and her hair whipped around her face as some sort of portal opened up and the masked man pulled her in.

"No, no—!"

Minato's hand phased through Kushina's shoulder a second too late, fingers running through her hair before the vortex pulling her in snapped shut, and he stumbled forward. Her tangled scarlet hair was all that was left as her chakra signature faded, and he realized that she was utterly and truly gone.

Minato's face was blank in shock as he let his hands fall to his sides, and felt an abysmal nothing, nothing, nothing well up in his chest.

Other than the few scarlet strands of her hair in his grasp, there was absolutely nothing left.

He didn't reach her in time.

"Now you know what it feels like!" He stranger hissed, his voice high with exuberant joy as if he took pride in the entire disaster. "I took your heart away. You know what it's like! You know—"

Minato's hands found the masked man's throat, and an alarmed gasp escaped the figure as the two of them went tumbling to the ground. Minato's face was impassive, his eyes unblinking as chakra gathered in his palm, and he slammed a fully formed rasengan into the man's chest, smashing him into the ground with a thunderous crash.

The man's damnable mask cracked and split to reveal his lower mouth, and he threw up the contents of his stomach as he struggled to pull himself back onto his feet. White viscous fluid dripped onto the ground, floating in his bile and dripping out of his open wounds, but Minato paid it no mind as he hit the stranger a second time, sending him flying thirty feet away until his body crashed into a nearby building, and he crumpled against a wall.

Minato blinked. He was at the stranger's side at an instant, Hirashin seal planted firmly on the fleshy meat of the man's neck as he held him up with one arm, staring into his one, spiraled red eye. With a flare of chakra, he knocked away the man's genjutsu as he tried to take hold of him, and Minato tightened his grip on the stranger's neck until the man was blue in the lips.

"Give her back." He ordered, ignoring how light the stranger was compared to him and how his feet were too short to touch the ground. Minato only tightened his hold on his neck. "Did you hear me? Bring her back this instant."

The stranger seemed to struggle to breathe for a moment, grasping at the firm hold Minato had on his neck with his one good hand, while his other seemed unresponsive and continued to drip white fluid down the side of the building. His mouth curled into a snarl, the scarred half of his mouth twisting into an ugly shape, before he spat at the ground Minato was standing on. He dropped to the ground and phased through Minato's hand, intangible once again.

His voice was raspy, but as triumphant as ever as the Kyuubi raged on behind them. "There's nothing you can do anymore. So long as I'm alive she exists within my dimension and lives another day. You touch me again Minato, and she dies. You understand? You don't call the shots anymore. I do."

A torrent of air began to swallow the stranger's body up again, and Minato found himself staring down the remains of his wife's kidnapper.

"I don't care who you are, or what your motives are..." His words were like heated steel as he stared unblinkingly at the man— no, teenager—who had the audacity to take everything dear away from him. "If you did it all for some revenge fantasy, or any other reason... I will hunt you down for as long as I live. You will never find peace. That is my oath to you, as my honour as a shinobi and my duty to my wife and village, believe it."

"I will," the boy hissed at him, clinging to the weeping, white wound on his stomach. His dark cloak fell away to reveal white spiraled skin dripping off him in oozing rivers. "I just hope you don't disappoint me. I'll give your regards to your wife, Namikaze."

And then his body was sucked away into the wind, Minato unable to follow.

…

He stared at the puddle the boy left behind, and cursed at himself in frustration.

Minato was alone in an empty field, the Kyuubi wreaking havoc behind him, a missing wife, a motherless son, and a fistful of scarlet hair in his hands; he had no idea what he was going to do.

He tucked the strands of Kushina's hair carefully into one of his coat pockets, and covered his face with his hands, taking a breath.

This was all such a goddamn nightmare. Kushina was gone. Totally, and completely gone. He couldn't feel her chakra signature anywhere, and from what he had witnessed from other people being sucked into their attackers vortex, they had either been spat out as lifeless corpses or thrown at allies and used as meat shields. He didn't know… what it was, exactly, but it was some sort of Dojutsu and allowed the user to have access to space-time techniques. Coupled with the masked man's ability to control the Nine-Tailed Fox…

There had only been one person in recorded history capable of controlling the Kyuubi with their eyes, but it was impossible to think that Madara Uchiha was still alive. It just wasn't possible—

—Unless he had access to a younger body? But the weight and height of the masked man were too small to ever have come in contact with a living, breathing Madara. The Uchiha would have had to been pushing past his nineties, and Shinobi just weren't capable of lasting that long after a lifetime of stress to their bodies. Elderly veterans were rare, even by modern standards, but from the warring states period? It was almost unheard of.

But it was Madara Uchiha. He went down in history as both one of the most awe-inspiring shinobi of the land and the most terrifying. Minato couldn't rule out the possibility that there could be some connection to him, but there was also a much larger possibility that the masked man could be anyone with a connection to the Uchiha. After all, their Dojutsu were capable of extraordinary things…

Minato could recall the few short lines he had been sent in the mail from an unknown sender, and wondered how much they really know about their attacker.

'I leave you this letter in the hope (…) that nobody inside the village take unnecessary blame.'

Had the person who sent him the letter known all along that Minato would suspect the Uchiha?

Ugh, what a headache. Minato rubbed his temples.

There were too many things for him to take account of, he couldn't keep his thoughts straight. Part of him wished that he took Kushina's place or that at least the two of them were taken together, and wouldn't have to be separated, but… his mind came back to their child. Tiny, helpless Naruto, who never got the chance to feel his mother's touch or be held in Kushina's arms.

He was being kept safe in a fully sealed, entirely impenetrable bunker Minato had tagged with his Hirashin, being tended to by several medical officers, but… Minato couldn't shake the feeling that he still wasn't safe. He had to hold his son in his arms to really know that he was going to be fine, that some kid in a mask wasn't going to swoop in again and rip the only reminder Minato had of his wife away from him.

The fact that Minato couldn't possibly do anything to help Kushina made him want to pull his hair out. She was relying on him, she trusted him to do the right thing. She believed in him, dammit! And she had ultimately paid the price. It was all his fault. There was nothing he could do to go back and change things. He had made a decision, and despite all the reassurances and planning, Kushina had been taken away to who knows where, the Bijuu ripped out of her, and her son left motherless.

Minato didn't know what to do. He was only twenty-four, he didn't know how to be a single dad. He didn't even really know how to be a real Hokage.

The Kyuubi crashed and roared again behind him, and Minato was pulled out of his thoughts and back into the real world, where his decisions cost people their entire lives.

"Will you shut up? I'll get to you eventually!"

The Kyuubi continued to scream and wreak havoc across Konoha. Somehow, it didn't hear him. Figures.

Minato ground his teeth together and took a step forward, preparing himself to deal with the Fox once and for all, when he heard someone clear their throat nearby.

"Lord Hiruzen!" Minato was at the Third's side in an instant, helping the elderly man back up to his feet. He looked to be in bad shape. His arm was out of its socket at an awkward angle, and the old man sucked in a shaky breath, his lungs wheezing with a grotesque gurgle. "You need medical treatment, I can take you to an officer if you can handle standing for a little while."

Sarutobi shook his head and straightened himself up, brushing the dirt and dried blood off of his platemail. "There's no need to worry, I'll be alright, just give me a few moments..."

Minato winced as the old man popped his arm back into place with a sickening crunch. His eyes lingered on the deep scarlet burns running up Hiruzen's arms, and dread pooled in his stomach. "Are you sure you don't need someone to look at your hands? Those chakra burns look bad, and your reserves are looking dangerously low."

"I have to hand it to that masked kid, he certainly caught me off guard…" Hiruzen said thoughtfully to himself, wincing as he rubbed circles into his bad shoulder. "I'm afraid most of my energy went into sealing part of the Kyuubi into Kushina-san... " He looked around the area, and then solemnly stared Minato in the eyes when he realized they were the only ones around. "She's not here anymore, is she?"

Minato looked down at the ground and let out a shaky breath. "He took her."

"I'm sorry." Hiruzen put a hand on his arm and shared a meaningful look with the Yondaime when he finally glanced back up. "I know how much work you put into trying to avoid this outcome. If there's anything I can do to help…"

Minato stared back at him. "You lost your wife too, it would be unfair of me to ask that of you Sarutobi-sama."

"Perhaps the both of us need a moment to ourselves," the Third said, deep in thought. His eyes were misty as he spoke, but his voice was clear. "To tell you the truth, it doesn't quite feel as if she's really gone."

"I...I know what you mean." Minato wiped at his face with a trembling hand, and willed his fingers to stay still as he felt the weight of the world crash down upon him in that moment. "It doesn't feel like it's real."

"Like you're walking in a dream," Hiruzen nodded, his gaze heavy. The old man smiled and brought his hands gently together as the water in his eyes spilt over, and a tear rolled down his cheek. "Biwako and I were married for sixty years. We knew each other as children, I can't imagine what life could possibly be like without her."

The sight of his teacher's teacher openly crying in front of him was profoundly disturbing to Minato, but the impact of the Third's words hit him right where it hurt, and all he could think about was scarlet hair and violet eyes. "None of this should have happened. It's not right."

"It isn't," He agreed, nodding his head. "Even after so many years I've been alive, death has never been right, or fair." He chuckled, catching a teardrop as it fell from his chain and into his wrinkled hand. On his finger was an old, worn wedding ring with a dozen dents and scratches to its surface. Somehow, even though all the fighting, it had remained intact. Minato wondered if he had ever seen Hirzen take it off in the years he had known the elderly man. The Third let out a shaky breath. "I had always hoped that I would die the first out of the two of us."

Minato numbly nodded his head in agreement. He still wished he could have taken Kushina's place, somehow. Even though there was a possibility she was still alive, not having Kushina by his side felt wrong on the worst possible level.

As the Kyuubi lashed out again in the distance, Minato winced and tried to get a hold of himself. Wallowing in self pity was only going to get him so far.

Hiruzen seemed to have the same thought process, and he quickly pulled himself back together as the Kyuubi howled into the night sky, fighting with Konoha shinobi as they put their lives on the line to keep the village safe. "If Jiraiya had been here, I wonder what the outcome would have been…"

"Does it matter anymore?" Minato's hands fell to his side, and he clenched his fists. "He wasn't here when we needed him most. For months I tried to get a hold of him; there's no possible way I can forgive him for ignoring my letters. Kushina is gone!"

Sarutobi dragged a hand down his face, grimacing. "The land of hot springs is the worst place for him to be at this moment. Dammit, Jiraiya…"

Minato cursed under his breath and tried not to dwell on it at the moment. "Have you been able to hear from Danzo's units at all? His side of the operation has been completely silent."

"If that means his teams have been completely wiped out, or that he's no longer cooperating with us…" Hiruzen's frown deepened, and he motioned for Minato to follow him as they made their way in the direction of the Kyuubi. "Danzo has been my confidant for decades, and I would personally put my life on the line for his innocence, but even I have to admit that his ambitions have sometimes gotten in the way of his loyalties at times."

Minato looked at him worriedly. "Do you feel as though it could lead to him turning his back on the village?"

"The role of Hokage has always been his priority, but even I can't fathom the idea of him allowing a foreign nin into the village to let loose as much chaos and destruction that the Kyuubi has brought." Hiruzen sighed and looked away from him. "There has to be another reason behind his disappearance."

"I trust your judgement of his character Lord Hiruzen…" Minato wasn't exactly sure if he should hold his tongue or speak freely, but after a reassuring nod from the Third, he continued. "My dealings with Danzo-sama have… made me aware of his aspirations and opinions of me rather clearly. He doesn't see me as a true Hokage, but more… like a child trying on a hat. He doesn't trust my decisions."

"Do you?" Hiruzen asked genuinely.

Minato swallowed and looked away. "I did once…. I'm not quite as sure anymore."

"That feeling is natural. You've been dealt an unfair hand at the beginning of your role as leader. With time, one grows more accustomed to hard decisions and the weight of the village on your shoulders."

Minato looked out into the sea of fire and destruction left by the Kyuubi, the smoke and ash wafting through the air, and he closed his eyes. "I'm not sure if I want to get used to this."

"Yes, well, I can promise you that most of the time, the village isn't actually in flames." Sarutobi shook his head, an exhausted expression on his face. "We should put an end to this once and for all, regardless of my student or confidant's assistance."

"You already said that Kushina has half of the Nine-Tails inside her, correct?" Minato could feel dread curling inside his stomach, but he pushed it down and waited for Hiruzen's response. The old man's nod of confirmation only made him even more uneasy.

The Third took notice of his anxiety and gave him a reassuring pat on the shoulder. "At this point, there's no changing the past, what happens to that half of the Kyuubi is out of our hands at the moment. What we need to focus on is containing the remaining half as quickly and with the least amount of loss of life as possible."

Minato pursed his lips, hoping that what Sarutobi was suggesting wasn't what he thought he would be. "We could contain the Bijuu inside a scroll and keep it contained until further notice… It's risky, and might take longer…."

Hiruzen shook his head. "Too much time has been wasted fighting already, there's no telling how many lives could be lost trying to keep the beast still. None of our active sealing masters have access to adamantine chains, a paper scroll wouldn't be able to hold it for long." he shot Minato a long, heavy stare.

"He's not even a day old," Minato all but begged. "There has to be another way. Please."

"I understand your reluctance to sacrifice your only son." Hiruzen faced him and the two of them stood and looked at each other, man to man. "There are countless lives at stake, Minato. Your village needs you to make the tough choice I'm asking of you. Besides taking another parent's child, I can't see any other alternative."

Minato shook his head vehemently. "I don't know if I can, I don't think Kushina would forgive me if I do what you're asking. We'd be forcing an infant to shoulder our problems for us. I don't want to do that to him, Naruto just lost his mother."

"Your son is an Uzumaki, his bloodline gives him a better chance of surviving the Kyuubi's chakra than anyone else in the village. His odds are in your favour Minato, it would be murder for any other child." Hiruzen stared him straight in the eyes, each of his words clear as day. "I cannot force your hand, but you have to make the choice yourself. Not as a father, but as your village's leader. Do what you know is right."

Minato swallowed and tore his eyes away from the Third, looking out again at the demolished buildings and destruction let loose on the village. His hand found the pocket where he stowed the few strands of Kushina's hair, above his heart, and he closed his eyes.

Do what was right.

Did he even know what that was anymore?

Minato's hand dropped to his side, and his eyes hardened. He let out a long breath between his teeth and bowed his head.

Naruto... Kushina…

"...Forgive me."

.

~ X ~

.

"P-pardon me, coming though, sorry! uuhh…" Under the Hokage monument, within one of the many packed bunkers, Hasuki Inuzuka clutched a little bundle of blankets closer to his chest as he desperately tried to navigate his way through the terrified crowd of people around him. They could all feel the earth tremble each time the Kyuubi dug its claws into the hard earth, and some individuals were openly sobbing as everyone tried to locate their friends or loved ones that had been lost in the chaos. Hasuki was one of those people.

Though, he would have liked to think he was keeping his cool a lot better than some of the other civilians around him.

"Please, I-I just need to know if a Hana Inuzuka was brought in since I last checked, or if her name has popped up in another of the other shelters." Hasuki's hand wrapped around the sleeve of an incredibly frazzled and overworked officer and he refused to let go until he finally got some answers. With his other arm, he awkwardly supported a sobbing Kiba as gently as he could, but he could only focus on one kid at a time. "She's an academy student, brown hair, has three Ninken who wouldn't ever leave her side—or, well, they might sometimes, Kemuri is too curious for his own good—but she was last seen at school and she's the daughter of Tsume Inuzuka the current clan head. I need to know if you've seen her, because i-if you haven't I d-don't know what I would d-do—"

"Reports will come in when they do, you'll just have to wait until new intel comes in, sorry." The Chunin roughly jerked his arm out of Hasuki's grasp and returned to his duties.

Okay, maybe Hasuki wasn't keeping as cool as much as he would have liked, but that still didn't mean the guy had to be so rude! Hasuki blinked away the tears in his eyes and went back to soothing Kiba, patting the poor baby's back in a poor attempt at trying to calm him down.

Kiba wailed into his ear, hiccupping in between each loud sob as it wrecked his body, and all Hasuki could do was hold him close. "Yeah, me too little guy…"

"Inuzuka-san?" A small voice cried from within the crowd, catching Hasuki's attention.

"I-Itachi-san?!" Hasuki rushed forward to meet the pale Uchiha as other people streamed by them near the gateway. "Are you okay? Where are your parents? Have you seen Hana?"

"I haven't seen Hana since recess, hours ago, I'm sorry…" Itachi seemed to go three shades whiter at the mention of her name, and he took a moment to compose himself. Behind him, Shinko carried an exhausted and tear streaked Izumi through the doorway, and Itachi seemed to remember his original purpose. "Hasuki-san, do you know where the nearest medic is? Izumi blacked out and we haven't been able to wake her up since-well..." he cast his eyes to the floor and seemed to wince at some sort of memory. "Her father was with us, but he didn't make it…"

"It was bad. Really, really bad." Shinko turned a shade of green just thinking of it. She scanned the crowd and the looked back at Hasuki. "Have you seen my parents anywhere? I need to find them and make sure they're okay."

"We need to make sure Izumi is alright first though," Itachi reminded her, unwilling to budge. Thankfully, Shinko agreed with him.

Hasuki shifted Kiba's weight in his arms, and bent down to take a look at Izumi's face. Her skin was a white pallor and her cheeks were streaked with dirt and mud, and dark splotches of blood marked her face, soaking into her clothes. Hasuki looked at the two children worriedly. "This isn't her blood, is it?"

"It's not." Itachi said, his voice strained. "We couldn't do anything to save her father. There was just so much…." He cringed and closed his eyes, shaking his head as if to dispel the image form his brain. "We wouldn't have made it if we tried to get him out. There was no way to save him in time."

"I'm so sorry." Hasuki stood back up, holding Kiba tight to his chest. "I can take you to the nearest clinic, but I'm not sure what the medical officers will be able to do for her at the moment. Last time I saw, they were already in over their heads working on critically wounded patients. They might just tell you to keep an eye on her and wait until she wakes up. There are a lot of people that need attention right now."

"As long as we can get her help, that's fine." Itachi helped lessen the load Shinko was carrying by slinging Izumi's arm over each of their shoulders and lifting her up off the ground with their arm. "Which way do we go?"

Hasuki parted the crowd ahead of them, winding through the busy hallways populated with sick and injured patents sitting on the ground waiting for their turn. He eyed the men and women with bleeding head wounds and children with poorly administered bandages but urged the children behind him forward.

As she scanned the passing faces, her attention elsewhere, Shinko's foot came in contact with another person's, and the three of them went tumbling to the ground.

Hasuki found himself passing the bundle in his arms over to the youngest child in exchange for a concussed and bruised Izumi. The blood on her clothes soaked into the light green fabric of his T-shirt, but he couldn't let that bother him at the moment. "Itachi-san, can you hold Kiba for me? It's just a little farther to the clinic and then we can rest. The two of you must be tired."

"U-Um," Itachi awkwardly adjusted his hold on Kiba's legs until the baby sat comfortably in his arms. Thankfully, the only sound Kiba made was a slight whimper after being passed from person to person. "Okay. I've got him, I'll make sure he's safe."

"Good. After we help Izumi out, we can go look for both of your parents, okay?" Hasuki patted the top of Shinko's head after she got her bearings back.

"O-okay," she murmured, her face burning in shame. Once they started moving again, she made sure to mind her steps, but her eyes searched every face in the crowd for someone familiar, even after her tumble. She desperately wanted to see her parents faces, alive and well. Hasuki sympathised with her.

As they got closer to the main clinic and the surgical rooms, the young girl's eyes lit up in recognition, and she shot past Hasuki and Itachi. She bounded towards a woman with long braids trailing down her back, similar to her daughter's braided pigtails. Despite the older woman's skin being a couple shades lighter, the family resemblance was readily apparent.

"Mama!"

"Shinko!" The woman bent down and swallowed her daughter up into a crushing hug, her shawls wrapping around the small girl with a comforting warmth. She looked over Shinko's shoulder to lock eyes with Hasuki and Itachi. "Are you with my daughter? Thank you so, so much for bringing her back to me safely. I don't know what I would have done if I didn't get to see my little girl again. I'm in your debt."

Balancing the weight of Izumi in his arms, Hasuki nodded his head at the boy next to him. "You should thank Itachi-san for that, the three of them came down together; I was just bringing them to see a doctor."

Itachi's expression was grim and downcast. "If anyone should be thanked, it should be Kotaru Uchiha. Without him, we wouldn't have known which way to go to find shelter."

"I see…" Shinko's mother gently let her daughter go and stood up, but the two of them remained connected by their tightly clasped hands. Her voice was soft as she spoke, and she stared at the unconscious Izumi resting in Hasuki's arms. "Despite only knowing the man for a short while, I know he would have never wanted to leave his daughter in such a state… When Izumi-chan wakes up, you can tell her I know which bunker her mother is in and that she's okay. I'm sorry it had to come to this."

Hasuki wiped a patch of blood off of Izumi's forehead and sighed. "I'm sorry too, Inari-san."

Shinko pulled at her mother's arm and desperately tried to get her attention. "Mom, Mum, Mama! Where's papa? Tell me he's safe, tell me why he's not here with you."

"Oh sweetie." Her mother bent back to to her level and looked her gently in the eyes. "He's waiting for surgery right now, the doctors say that he's going to live, but…"

"But what?" Shinko's eyes were wide and glassy, and without knowing exactly what happened, Hasuki could practically recall the death of Izumi's father on the young girl's face. "Tell me he's fine, tell me nothing bad happened. Where is he? Let me go see him!"

Her mother's hands locked onto Shinko's wrists and barred her from entering the waiting room behind her. "You cant, I won't let you see him like this."

She still struggled to free herself from her hold, but her mother's grip remained strong even when Shinko's eyes watered and threatened to pour down her face. "Mama, I just saw a man get impaled by a telephone wire, I don't care what papa looks like, let me be with him and hold his hand!"

"Don't tell me that was Kotaru—" The older woman went a sickly pale color and recoiled back as if struck. Her eyes landed on Izumi and she shook her head vehemently, her grip on her daughter loosening. "I-I had no idea…"

Shinko ripped herself away from her mother's hands and dashed past her into the next room, away from Hasuki's line of sight. He could hear her calling for her father amongst the moans of agony coming from the severely injured patients inside.

"Shinko, sweetie, wait!" and her mother dashed after her.

Not wanting to be left behind, but afraid of what Itachi and baby Kiba might see, he shot the Uchiha a warning look and covered the boy's eyes with his free hand as they followed after them. "If you peek between my fingers, Mikoto-sama will skin me alive—and I would let her—the same goes for you if you let Kiba see anything."

He felt Itachi nod his head and gently close his eyes under his hand. The young boy tucked Kiba into the crook of his neck so the baby couldn't see in front of him, and the two of them shuffled forward into the crowded room of the dying and near-deceased.

The heavy scent of bodily fluids and rancid, gangrenous tissue hung in the air, and Hasuki had to tear his eyes away from some of the patients that they passed, through their torn ligaments and twisted bodies remained fixed in his brain. Izumi shifted in his arms, but remained unconscious, a part of him was deeply grateful she kept her eyes closed the whole time as they made their way through the dozens and dozens of cots laid out on the ground. These people were dying, in the most critical state of emergency, and they were lying out in rows for the entire world to see. They deserved someone to tend to them, to heal them. Where were the doctors?

In a dark corner of the room, on a little cotton roll, Sinko stood clutching the bedsheets to her father's cot as her mother tried to drag her away.

Her tearful sobs had turned into frustration and anger. "Why isn't anyone helping him if he's been here for hours? I can see bones sticking out of his arms and chest, why have them just ignored him this whole time?"

"Shinko, honey, the doctors are doing everything they can, but there are so many other people here... please don't raise your voice, the men and women nearby are in pain, and if we cause too much trouble your father might not get the treatment he needs."

"What do you mean? They can't just deny him help! I can smell the infection in his arm from here—If they don't do something right now, he could end up dying." She shook her head from side to side and her eyes scanned the room for a medic. She looked as if she was on the verge of starting a fight. "Is it because he isn't considered a full citizen? That's bullshit! He's a human being just like the rest of us, why should he have to wait hours in this bed while even another minute could end up taking his life?"

A man in a blood splattered white lab coat padded over to them with a scowl on his face. "Is there a problem here? Do I need to get someone to escort you out?"

Hasuki stepped in between the small family of three and blocked the medic's view of which patient they were crowded around. "Not at all, sir. We were just visiting a loved one and the conversation got a little heated."

"Keep the volume down please, there are people suffering." The man signed and turned back to return to his duties. Hasuki gently placed Izumi in a nearby chair and instructed Itachi to stick with her before he sped after the doctor.

"Um, excuse me, sir? Is there any way you can tell me when the gentleman I was visiting is going to receive any care? He seems like he desperately needs it right now, and nobody's helped him in a while."

The doctor shook his head and seemed to pay him no attention. "I'm sorry, but I can't disclose patient information to civilians, he'll have someone assigned to him when there's someone available."

Hasuki took a step towards him, non-threateningly. "I'm a trained medic—well, mostly trained— and I'm not affiliated with the family at all. Do you think you could give me access to your waiting list? I'm fully capable of tending to some of your critical level patients while they wait for surgery. I could probably perform a few myself if given the right equipment."

That got his attention. The older man turned and looked over the young Inuzuka with a critical eye. "What sort of training have you received? Are you willing and able to perform Diagnostic and healing Jutsu? Are you familiar with the standard Konoha procedures for emergency surgery and care?"

"I've been going to night classes every weekend for the past couple years after the war ended. I'm more than proficient in Healing Jutsu, and know how to treat both human and animal injuries alike." Hasuki shifted awkwardly under the Doctor's stare. "But I haven't received any certificate or anything to prove my worth, since graduation to full-fledged medic requires near perfect attendance, and I work as a babysitter every day of the week."

The doctor looked at him disapprovingly. "And you still feel as though you'd be able to help? Those hours in class are meant to teach you what to do, otherwise, you'd be harming the patients with your incompetence rather than helping them." He shut his eyes and turned away from him. "You may return to your associates."

"Please, wait!" Hasuki's hand shot out to stop him from walking away. The doctor's eyes stared him down with a thunderous expression, and Hasuki withdrew his hand and shook his head apologetically. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry! It's just that I can't stand around like this while people are dying. I know I don't sound like much, but my grades are perfect even though I barely go to class. You can look up Hasuki Inuzuka if you really want to waste time, but even you have to understand how precious that is. I can help, your staff is already overworked, let me lend my services, please."

The man paused, thinking it over before he sighed and shook his head. "Fine, alright, you may have a point."

Hasuki sucked in a breath and stole a glance back at the corner where Shinko's family were huddled, he glanced back at the doctor and brought his hands together. "Does that mean I can help?"

"Yes, but—"

"Thank you! Thank you thank you!" Hasuki took the doctor's free hand and shook it with both of his, shaking the poor man's whole arm with enthusiasm. "I can start right away! I swear, I'm a fast worker—!"

The doctor pinched the bridge of his nose and sighed to himself, rubbing his sore wrist after Hasuki released it. "There's a woman down the hallway in charge of keeping track of supplies, there should be a spare pair of scrubs and a full box of gloves waiting for you if you tell them that Doctor Tanaka sent you. The lady behind the counter should be a woman named Natsumi Nomura, if not, locate me and we can figure something out. Nomura-san is just a school teacher, if she leaves her post, that could cause problems."

"Natsumi Nomura—?" Hasuki repeated out loud to himself.

Doctor Tanaka nodded, and handed Hasuki a clipboard full of patient information and a list of things required to treat each patient. "You know her, good. You should be able to sense her Chakra from here then. If you can't, then you're of no use to me. Now go, get moving. I have people to tend to, you've taken up enough of my time as it is, and I will be looking up your name by the day's end, I assure you."

With a rough shove sending him out the door, Hasuki sent a short reassuring wave to Shinko's mother and pointed to the clipboard in his hands, before making his way towards the familiar chakra signature he recognized down the hall. He swerved past men and women with crutches and gently pushed past the crowded and injured civilians, until he found himself standing and looking at a massive group of people all clamouring at a tiny built-in window with a sign above it that said 'Triage centre,'

"Please, one at a time, I can can speak with all of you so long as you dont dont start shoving. I understand you need help, but I can't give it to all of you at once—"

Hasuki eased his way up through the door on the side and slid into the room while Nomura was busy. Over her shoulder, he could see her hastily writing down medical reports for three different people at once as they spoke to her, and she was pulling at her hair in frustration.

"Okay, that's you three done, hand these to a doctor once someone comes to check on you, and they should be able to take it from there." She breathed a sigh of relief as part of the crowd petered off, taking their injured loved ones with them, before more people fell into place and she was up to her elbows in even more work than before. She rubbed her forehead and sighed, turning around in her chair. "One moment, please, I've been sitting here for four hours, let me get a drink—"

Hasuki passed her a bottle of water before she turned around completely and realized someone else was in the room, and she jumped.

"Sorry, sorry! I didn't mean to startle you!" He picked up the plastic bottle off of the floor and handed it to her again as his old teammate collected herself.

"How did you get in here? Actually, no, don't answer that, I don't have the time." She snatched the drink out of his hand and chugged the whole thing in front of him, wiping her face with the back of her hand when she was done. She took a deep breath, and, when she caught him staring at her, cringed and handed the empty bottle back to him. "Uh…. thank you…. I didn't mean to be, uh, rude or anything."

"You're busy, it's fine." Hasuki awkwardly scratched the back of his head and clutched his clipboard to his chest. "I was told by doctor Tanaka to come here for medical supplies, I'll be helping out as one of the medics for the next while."

She blinked at him. "Oh! That's, uh, great. Congratulations! Or, errr…" she cleared her throat and awkwardly looked away from him. In light of their village's current emergency status, congratulations wasn't really an appropriate word to use. "There's a box somewhere in the back here with scrubs and stuff. I can get it for you, if you would just move over to the side…"

In the tiny office, he skirted over to the side as much as he could as Nomura reached up to grab a large box from a shelf. He pursed his lips and stayed silent, letting her struggle for a moment with the weight before his nature got the better of him and he reached up to help her.

"I've got it… It's fine." Hasuki retracted his hands and went back to holding his clipboard as Natsumi picked through the contents of her box. While she worked, she shot a glance up at him and pushed her glasses up to the bridge of her nose. "I didn't know you made it down here—though….. I'm glad you made it. How's Hana-san doing?"

"...She's missing," Hasuki said quietly, between grit teeth. Natsumi paled and shook her head, returning to her box in silence. When the quiet dragged on too long and Hasuki found himself fidgeting with the uncomfortable proximity between them, he spoke again. "Do you think you could keep an eye out in case she's brought in and I miss her while I'm working? And Itachi-san's parents as well. Just… uh, keep me posted?"

Natsumi sighed and looked back up at him. "There's a lot of people flying past my window, I don't know if I could do that…"

"Please," Hasuki stressed. "Just do this one thing for me, I swear, I'll pay you back. I'll owe you."

She flinched at his pleading tone and pulled out a pair of scrubs that fit his weight and height, pushing them into his arms without looking at his face.

"Fine… sure, okay." She glanced back up at him, her eyes hard and her shoulders set. "But I don't want to hear about you owing me anything Hasuki Inuzuka. For all intents and purposes, I owe you more than anything. This is just a favour for an old friend." She swallowed and tucked a pieces of hair behind her ears, looking down at the ground. "If you could even call us that anymore."

Hasuki sighed and rubbed the back of his neck. They had been teammates, what, when they were twelve? Eight years had passed since their team had disbanded… a lot had happened since the two last saw each other. The time they had spent apart had turned the two of them into fully grown adults, changed by the disaster of a C-rank mission that tore their team apart, but… perhaps they could put the past behind them and be civil? At least, as long as they two of them had to work in close proximity.

The silence stretched out between them again, and Nomura flushed and turned her back to him, determined to get back to work. "W-well, uh, I'll keep out for Hana for you, I promise."

"Natsumi." She spun around at the mention of her name, and Hasuki pulled her into an awkward, one-armed hug. His hospital scrubs bunched up between them, and he could hear Nomura take in a sharp breath. He pulled back before things got too weird. "I'm glad you're safe. Take care of yourself, okay? Don't go another four hours helping people without having a drink of water, you're supposed to be smarter than that."

"R-right," she laughed awkwardly, adjusting her glasses in the dim lighting of the storage room. She looked up to him, and her smile was genuine as she crossed her arms over her chest and beamed at him. "I'll make sure to do that, doctor Inuzuka. You know… I bet hospital scrubs would really bring out your eyes." Her eyes seemed to twinkle as he laughed out loud at that. But soon, she was back to business as someone called for her at the front of her desk. She looked back up at him. "Now get out of here before I have to push you, there are people who need your expert medical care as soon as possible, and they need your help. Get to it!"

"Right!" With a flutter of cheap plastic fabric, he pulled on the scrubs overtop of his regular clothes. Natsumi coughed into her hand and shuffled back to her desk, pulling out a fresh set of medical reports and deliberating with more people at her front desk as he got his smock tied and everything in order. With a final snap of an elastic band tying his hair back, Hasuki took his clipboard and tucked it under his arm.

"Good luck," Natsumi said, nodding her head at him as he left the room, a fresh, determined look on her face. It suited her, Hasuki decided.

"Good luck," he said back, waving a hand over his shoulder as he sped off in search of Shinko's family in the intensive care ward.

...

The hallways were still lined with the injured and sick, but as they reached out to him for help for their children, he finally understood how overworked and understaffed the doctors were for them to dismiss the people reaching out for aid. After the tenth person stalled Hasuki on his way to Shinko's father, and his reserves were starting to dip, he had to jog the last bit back to the ICU. Every person calling out to him was a regretful wound to his chest as they no doubt were in just as much need as anyone else in the entire underground bunker.

He could only help as many people as he could, though. And the patients on the verge of death were his first priority. As much as he desperately wanted to help, they would have to wait their turn amongst all the other suffering and injured people.

As he approached the dark corner where Shinko's father lay dying, he sympathized with doctor Tanaka's brisk and cool disposition. There were just… so many people to sympathize with, it was overwhelming. Hasuki had never really wanted to become a medic and had only pursued the study to be a better caretaker, but he seriously considered the idea of becoming a doctor as his hands lit up with a diagnostic Jutsu and he sent his chakra through the gangrenous and infected wound that Shinko's father had on his bicep.

There were just so many people that needed help. Hasuki took a deep breath, and started shutting off the nerves in the aging Suna man's system, his heartbeat settling to a calm and relaxed rhythm as the injured man's face no longer showed any sign of pain.

"Is he going to be okay?" Sniffled a tearful Shinko, her mother's arms clasped around her small shoulders as the two of them clung to each other for comfort.

Hasuki took a deep breath, and urged the two of them to give him some more space as he pulled up his surgical mask and nodded at Itachi to take Kiba far away from the ICU. "He needs immediate surgery, and I'm sorry, but by the way the infection in his arm is spreading, he may have to lose his left arm if he's going to survive, but…"

"But he will survive," Shinko's mother said, her eyes steely and hard even though they leaked tears all their own. Her daughter buried her face into her shawls, and the older Inari stared up at him with a fixed expression her face. She had complete faith in him, and despite how not once, ever, had he ever been given that kind of responsibility before, her faith bolstered his own, and he nodded back at her. "Then I trust that you will bring my husband back to me when you're done."

Hasuki swallowed his anxiety and took a deep breath. "I will," he said with total confidence, for the first time in his life. "I'll bring him back to you."

As the two of them followed after Itachi into a waiting room, Hasuki glanced at the sleeping form of Izumi, still slumped over in her chair, and then the unconscious face of Shinko's father in his hospital bed.

He readied his chakra reserves, and his hands lit up with bright green healing Jutsu as he got to work. "I'll make sure all of you make it out of this alive. I promise."

He could only hope that while he worked, his own loved ones would come back to him as well.

.

~ X ~

.

'TEAR INTO THE FLESH, BITE DOWN WITH EVERYTHING YOU HAVE, TEETH RIPPING, MOUTH SNAPPING AT SOFT FLESH. DO NOT FALTER. DO NOT STOP.'

A massive beast with two independent thinking heads barreled forward and bit into the meat of the Kyuubi's neck, ripping into the beast's jugular and sending a spray of chakra-infused blood onto the streets below.

'FORWARD, FORWARD. IGNORE THE PAIN, SNARL LIKE THE BEAST YOU ARE AND SWALLOW THE FOX WHOLE IF YOU MUST.'

Despite being half the Kyuubi's height, and only coming up to the fox's shoulders, the man-beast transformation held its ground and pushed the Nine-Tailed Demon back with all its strength, one set of jaws clamped on the fox's throat and another set of jaws wrapped around the beast's muzzle, forcing it's mouth shut.

There was a thunderous muted growl from the Kyuubi as it struggled against the teeth digging into its flesh, and it's tails lashed out behind it as it attempted to rear up and swipe at the two headed dog biting down on it.

With a puff of bright white smoke, another man-beast transformation sprung up beside it, and a larger dog with an equal amount of heads and tawny brown fur barreled into the side of the Kyuubi and pinned it, crushing buildings and sending debris flying in its wake.

The transformation holding onto the Kyuubi's throat and muzzle released its hold, but soon the two beasts circled upon the Kyuubi and their four combined heads bit down on every soft spot the fox had. The creature writhed in fury and pain as it was mauled to pieces, bright orange chunks of demon chakra lighting up the sky, and a low moan escaped it's jaws as its throat was torn to pieces.

The second man-beast transformation stood back and admired its work, while the smaller one, the first, remained poised over its enemy, waiting for the moment it knew the animal would get back up.

'THIS IS AN UNYIELDING BATTLE, A GOD SUCH AS THIS WOULD NOT BOW ITS HEAD IN DEFEAT SO EASILY. WE ARE NOT DIM-WITTED ENOUGH TO BELIEVE THIS IS OVER YET.'

The smaller two-headed beast barked an order to the larger one, which was ignored. It turned its head to listen in on the minute cheering of nearby shinobi who took the Kyuubi's momentary submission as a sign that their fighting was over.

'FOOLISH.'

The ground quaked underneath them, and soon, the Fox regenerated itself and lashed out again with new energy, sweeping the larger dog off it's feet and pinning it to the ground by its conjoined throat. The smaller, wiser man-beast transformation leapt on top of the Kyuubi and ripped at its haunches, pulling it off the other transformation before it could do more harm to the people inside.

The Kyuubi snarled and turned on the smaller dog once the transformation beneath it popped and fizzled out of existence, and its full fury was turned on a new target as it lashed out with all its might and slammed the two headed dog into the ground with its front paws. The transformation cracked, ribs squeezing together under the monumental pressure of the Kyuubi pushing its full weight on its ribcage, and the two heads wheezed for air and mercy the Nine Tailed Demon Fox would not give.

The Fox opened its great jaws and fit one of the two heads inside its mouth, attempting the crush its massive skull with his teeth, before an explosive tag went off near its eye, startling the Kyuubi and dragging its attention elsewhere.

'WEAK...Ness….'

The Man-beast transformation beneath the fox's feet dissipated as the creature hissed and bared it's teeth at three massive Akimichi who swelled in size and stood as the Fox's new opponents. A new battle of giants began as men and women threw themselves at a monster three times taller than even their largest body transformation.

Through the smoke, Tsume and Kuromaru wheezed and coughed, clutching their ribs as they limped away from the battle, tails between their legs. With their man-beast transformation dissipated, their chakra coils were reeling and needed a moment to readjust, which meant the two of them were out of the battle until they recovered.

Bad news for the Akimichi who were barely tall enough to reach the Kyuubi's knees. Thankfully, there were a few other Inuzuka capable of pulling off Man-beast transformations, and they were able to fill in where Tsume and Gonza's transformations soon enough.

Ugh, speaking of Gonza…

"You bastard, learn to keep your eyes on the prize next time!" Tsume chucked a rock at Gonza's shiny, bald head as he limped his way over to them, his ninken Jikosuke close behind.

He batted the little rock out the sky like a bug and scoffed at her insult. "You wanna pin the blame on someone Tsume-chan? At least I'm not the one severely out of shape and lagging behind as the rest of the men follow your orders."

"Shut up and help me to my feet," Tsume grunted as she pushed herself up into a sitting position. Gonza's big meaty hand stretched out and grasped her arm, and he pulled her up onto her feet with a rough jerk. She shot him a dirty glare. "You really want to give me shit after I've been on maternal leave? I had a fucking baby, I didn't exactly have time to train when the goddamn Kyuubi decided to bust down my door."

"You let yourself get soft, don't even try to deny that." Gonza smirked down at her and crossed his massive arms over his chest. Jikosuke at his side sat down and licked her paw, watching them with her tiny, calculating eyes. "You should know better, you're our leader. In wartimes, any moment the enemy could spring up—Just because the village likes to parade around singing songs of peace doesn't mean that the danger is gone." He swung his arm out as if to put emphasis on the fact that the Kyuubi was wrecking havoc just a couple blocks down from them. "We're never safe! And it's foolish and weak of you to delude yourself otherwise. You poison the minds of our clansmen with that kinds of garbage!"

"It always come back to this, peace, pah." Kuromaru sighed and lowered his head, staring the two humans as they argued. "You worry yourselves over the sanctity of your clan, but you care nothing for the men and women who are fighting right now for the very lives. Where are your priorities?"

"You speak as if you understand the words you're using, wolfdog, and yet all I hear is pointless growling." Jikosuke bared her teeth at Kuromaru and the two canines circled each other, light tawny fur and dark silver blue, night and day. "If your partner had spent her time bolstering our units instead of weaning her young like a common bitch, perhaps the clan would have been better equipped to deal with this sort of calamity."

Kuromaru lunged at her. "How dare you speak of my partner like that you cur!"

Gonza pulled his ninken back before Kuromaru's teeth dug into Jikosuke's hide. "Will you control your ninken?! Now is not the time for infighting."

"As if you didn't bring this on yourself when you started picking at my role as leader, again." Tsume grabbed the back of Kuromaru's collar and made sure he wasn't about to lunge again, but she didn't bother trying to hold him back. She eyed Jikosuke and all of her fine, smooth hair, and shook her head at Gonza with an exhausted sigh. She almost pitied the man. "You know, people like safety. They don't like living in a constant state of fear, that's no way to bring up a family, and that's no way to rule over a clan. There's a reason I'm valued as clan head."

Gonza cocked his head to the side and squinted at her, curling his lip. "Yeah? And why's that?"

"Because they want to believe in a future where they can raise their kids in peace." This time she really did hit him with a pitying look, and it seemed to catch him and his ninken off guard. "Of course it's unattainable, but if our brothers and sisters can go to bed at night and close their eyes, and don't have to see all the horrible images of war and death and calamity when they fall asleep—then the sacrifices you, me and the rest of the veterans made during the last war would have been worth it."

Gonza stubbornly pursed his lips and looked off into the distance, his eyes lingering on the columns of smoke and ash wafting through the air. "I won't ever be able to forget the battlefield, no matter what you say. You'd be a fool not to remember what it was like."

"But I want to," Tsume said earnestly. "I have a daughter and a newborn son, they deserve a mother who doesn't have circles under her eyes every time she wakes up. Our clan deserves a leader who doesn't twitch every time someone makes a loud noise. The war happened, battles happen, but we need to enjoy the time we have when we're out of it."

"You're telling me i should just stop and smell the flowers sometimes," Gonza muttered, rolling his eyes.

Tsume kicked him in the shin. "I'm telling you that you should enjoy being alive while you still can, idiot."

Gonza winced and rubbed his leg with more emphasis than really needed, as if he was mocking her strength. "Tsume-chaaan, what happened to your fighting spirit? You used to be so much rougher when you were younger."

"Ruff-er?" Jikosuke asked, looking up at the two Inuzuka.

Kuromaru's ears flattened against his head and he glared at the female ninken. "Don't ever speak again."

"Your partner is more bark than bite, how pawful fur you to deal with," She said, snickering to herself as she playfully darted away from Kuromaru's snapping jaws.

"Kuromaru," Tsume said, a warning tone to her voice as the eyepatch ninken haled in his pursuit. By his widening eye at her tone, Tsume smirked down at the ninken and shared a glance at Gonza. "Don't be rude, apawlagize."

"Not you too!" Kuromaru shook his head vehemently and backed away from them. "I'll apologize when I'm in hell." He paused and glared at Jikosuke when a thought came to mind. "Or when she does first for being rude."

"I have nothing to apologize for," Jikosuke said, pointing her dainty nose up in the air. At Gonza clearing his throat at her, she huffed and her ears pressed back against her skull. She shot a meaningful look at Tsume, who had her eyebrow raised expectantly at her. "Okay, I'm sorry. You are more than just a common bit—" Gonza cleared his throat again cutting her off. "—well, uh, you know the word what I meant. You have my sincerest apawlogies."

Despite being satisfied by her words, Kuromaru still narrowed his eyes at her. "You just had to go the extra mile and slip that bit in, didn't you?"

The beautifully groomed Ninken sparkled under his harsh stare, and she seemed to thoroughly enjoy herself as the wolfdog growled at her. "Try as I mutt, it was the leashed I could do."

"Shut up, shut up, oh my god." Kuromaru closed his one good eye and whined as if the words coming out of her mouth physically pained him. He turned to his partner. "Your coils aren't back to their regular state, but can we please go somewhere else? I'm getting a headache."

"Does my wordplay truly mind-beagle-ing? I'll do better next time and try not to hound you as much." She snickered, chasing after Kuromaru as he did as much as he could to keep his distance from her. "Don't terrier self up about it!"

"Leave my sight!"

"Come on Jikosuke, don't dog him!" Gonza called out to the two ninken, and smirked as Tsume rolled her eyes at him. He looked back at her and frowned. "And here once I thought you were on my side for once."

Tsume groaned. "Please, God, that one was bad. A dog making puns is cute, when a grown man does it, that's just pushing it."

He sighed and the two of them fell silent as their ninken traded heated words and playful wordplay. Gonza shook his head as the dogs started to get out of range, and looked at Tsume again. "Jikosuke is pretty far away now… Think I should collar back?"

"I can't take my political enemy seriously if he insists on making a fool out of himself," Tsume said, holding a hand up to his face to shut him up. He scoffed at her tiny fingers, and knocked her hand away with ease. She glared at him. "What happened to that moment where I was speaking the truth and you were actually listening for once? Here I thought were were actually making some headway."

Gonza scoffed and shook his head. "The day I start listening to a woman is the day my wife leads the charge into battle and I stay home to do the cleaning. Come on, Tsume-chan, you can't really delude yourself into thinking that I was actually listening to you."

"It's like I'm talking to a brick wall," She huffed, minding her sore ribs as she crossed her arms over her chest. She shot a look at Gonza's throat, and glanced up at him as he rubbed it absentmindedly. There were teeth marks still imprinted in his skin. "You two really got torn to pieces huh? Maybe next time you should pay more attention to your enemy than the cheering applause of your fellow men. Next time, you might not have me around to save your ass."

Gonza bristled and wrinkled his nose. "Yes, well, I—"

"Father! I have news!" A darkly clad Anbu stumbled forward in front of them both, panting as if he travelled a great distance to reach them. "The Third and Fourth hokage are in position to resume sealing the Kyuubi and require your and the current clan head's participation again! They'll be setting up their sealing jutsu within the next few minutes, so our clansmen need to be in position as soon as possible!"

Gonza sighed and rubbed a hand down his face, sighing in defeat at the sight of the masked Anbu. "Son, the point of special ops is to keep your identity a secret. Who's going to take you seriously when you're blurting out that you're my son? You're supposed to make your way through the ranks on your own merit, not mine, ya' bonehead."

"I-" Anbu Jackal shut his mouth with an audible click of his teeth, and then bowed his head in shame. "Forgive me, I wasn't thinking…"

Tsume sighed and shot Gonza a look. "Cut the kid some slack, he just made it to Chunin, the kid's allowed to make mistakes, especially with all the responsibilities you heap on him." She gestured with her whole arm as Anbu Jackal took off his mask and turned it over in his hands, revealing the prepubescent face of his teenage son, Ashitaka.

"'Takeru, we'll talk about your Anbu career later on, You—" He turned on Tsume and pointed a finger at her accusingly. "—don't tell me how to parent my own son. It's none of your concern."

"Ashi' is a member of our clan, his shinobi career falls within my jurisdiction, actually," she huffed, but let the matter drop. Tsume turned to Ashitaka and gestured for him to put his mask back on, which he begrudgingly did after a nod from his father. "Where's your ninken? I want the two of you acting as my liaison with the Hokage as we get into position. You're not at your best without your partner."

The teen bristled at her tone. "I can do well as a shinobi without Chiisuke with me!" Tsume raised an eyebrow at him and he shrunk a little bit under her stare. "But… She wanted to say hello to Jikosuke…"

"Hello! Hello, hello!" A bouncy, orange Vizsla puppy bounded towards them, sniffing the air around the three Inuzuka before settling back down by Ashitaka's feet with an enigmatic energy to her. "There's a very big fox nearby! Have you seen it?"

"Yes, they've seen it Chiisuke," Takeru said in a pained voice, patting the puppy's head as it looked appraisingly up at him. "They couldn't have missed it. It takes up the entire sky."

"That's very true! You're so right Ashi-chan!" she licked his hand and sprung back up to her feet, her tail wagging behind her as she circled around his legs. "Will we be able to go say hello? It seems awfully playful tonight!"

"Chiisuke, that's a demon fox, you're not to approach it," Gonza warned, shutting down the young ninken before she got too far ahead of herself. He rubbed back of his head in thought as he stared down both son and dog, a deep frown on his face. "In fact, neither of you are to get close to it. I can't have you running into battle, it's way out of your league."

"But dad—"

Gonza cut him off before he could start. "This isn't something you can make me budge on, the second you stick your head into the battle, it's real. Without a man-beast transformation, you're just another fly on the wall, an annoyance. I won't let you go out there and get squashed."

Tsume coughed into her hand and looked down at her nails as if she wasn't completely aware of the fact that they were ignoring her presence. The Gonza family bias ran deep, and was readily apparent that neither of them respected her position as their leader. "Not to mention, your clan head already said she wanted you to keep her in contact with the Hokage. You know, an actual job instead of running into the heat of battle with no plan."

"I would have a plan!" Ashitaka shot back heatedly, causing his ninken to jump at the sudden spike in volume. He lowered his voice a second alter, and his Jackal mask swiveled over to look at his dad. "And I can do a man-beast transformation! Just… not very long."

"Come on, get out of here before you end up hurting yourself." Gonza rolled his eyes at the kid before whistling at his ninken to return to his side. The two of them took a couple measuring steps towards the nest of destruction the Kyuubi was making of the nearby buildings. He squared his shoulders, and glanced back at Tsume with a spark in his eyes, dismissing his son there and then. "You ready to get back in the battle or do you need a couple more minutes to prepare?"

Tsume huffed and shook her head in exasperation. "I'm ready when you are, but…" She turned her attention back to the severely off put Ashitaka. "I'd like to ask you something first, Takeru. I know you can't be everywhere at once, but if you hear anything about my daughter Hana, would you tell me immediately? I don't know if she made it to safety or not."

The teenager nodded his head grimly, and disappeared in a puff of smoke and leaves, his chakra signature appearing several blocks away, speeding back towards the place he came from, his ninken right on his heels. At her side, Gonza shot her a puzzled look.

"Not worried about your son or that ingrate you let hang around your family?

"I know they made it to the monument, and I trust Kiba's safe in his care." Tsume frowned up at the older man, her eyes hard. "Don't let him know I said this, but Hasuki's like family to me now. You insult him again, and you insult me, back off."

"Oh, so it's like a two-for-one deal, eh?" Gonza laughed at her severe expression, and let out a loud guffaw when she flipped him off. He slammed a big meaty hand on her back as if the action would comfort her, rather than knock her off balance. She dug her feet into the ground and grit her teeth as her whole frame shook in defiance. "Ha! No, no, okay, I admit, at least the kid proved he as some loyalty to the clan after looking after your brats for so many years. It's a shame what happened to his Ninken, he would've made a good support unit."

"You can't have a single conversation without talking about fighting," Tsume huffed. "And people say I'm bad at conversing with other people, jeez."

"Look," Gonza rubbed the back of his head and glanced at her out of the corner of his eye. "You may be the bane of my existance, an annoyance, and a completely incompetent leader, with very few redeeming qualities—weaker than me physically and totally riding the coattails of your father's role as clan head before me," he said, looking at the ground. Tsume pursed her lips, waiting for the other shoe to drop before she kicked his ass. "But… I know what family means to you. Your brothers and sister—"

"—Brothers, period."

He held up his hands nonthreatening. "—Okay, fine, jeez. I'm trying to give you a compliment, but fine, argue with me—"

Tsume frowned at him. "—It's not an argument when I'm right, and you're being blatantly disrespectful of the dead."

Gonza civered his face with his hands and groaned, staring over from the beginning. "Okay, whatever, moving on." He took a deep breath and crossed his arms in front of him. "Your old man would've been happy to see you welcome more people into that big empty house of his. I hope your daughter is safe, too many Inuzuka have died already, and as a parent, I wouldn't want anyone's kid to die on a day like today." He rubbed the back of his neck and still refused to look Tsume in the eyes after he finished. "So there. Can we get back to fighting now?"

After a heavy silence, he finally looked back at her, only to receive an incredibly strong punch to his shoulder as payment.

"Oh you jerk, don't go saying nice things like that! I might actually start caring," Tsume hissed, punching in the arm again for good measure.

He drew away, this time in actual pain. "I was being nice! Why the hell did you punch me?!"

"Because hating your guts is so much easier!" She yelled back. "When did you suddenly develop emotional intelligence?! Don't ever speak like that to me again, oh my god."

"I don't understand you, woman," he whined, rubbing his bruising arm in great pain. If someone looked at it clearly, they could see the imprint of Tsume's knuckles in his skin as it glowed a bright neon pink. "That's the 'thank you' I get for bringing myself to your level? Consider this conversation over and done with, feelings are for girls, I'm going to go punch a fox."

Tsume groaned and followed after him as he trudged off. She caught up to him easily enough, and elbowed him in the side, making him wince again, but she shot him a lopsided grin. "I appreciate it though. Thank you, I mean it."

"Yeah, yeah," he huffed, though he didn't seem so bothered by her outburst anymore. He brought his hands together into a seal and she could feel his chakra build in his chest alongside his ninken. She did the same a moment later as they approached the Kyuubi at an advantageous angle. He shot a look at her. "You ready to get back in the battle?"

Tsume looked down at Kuromaru, who looked back up at her with a confident sine in his eyes, and she nodded. "Ready! One, two—"

Gonza and Jikosuke transformed in a cloud of smoke a second before she gave him he signal, and she groaned.

"Fine! Fuck it!"

The two of them followed suit, smoke and ash swallowing her and Kuromaru up as their transformation gained height and stature, and they rose up above the ruined city skyline. They stood almost head to head with the other transformation, long tawny brown hair and dark silver-blue fur blowing in the wind as the Kyuubi stirred the elements up in its endless fury. The two dogs stood proud, unyielding in the face of such anger, and their four heads rose to the challenge as the kyuubi stopped its assault on the flagging Akimichi and sniffed the air, recognizing the scent of its former enemies.

The Akimichi fell back the moment the fox's attention was drawn back to the pair of double headed dogs heading straight for it, and the two of them were back in the fray, jaws snapping and teeth digging into flesh as if they had never fallen in battle in the first place. Their allies held position and waited for them to strike as one, so that they, too, could move in for the kill. The thrill of the battle was in the air, and worldly concerns bled away into the background as the two wolves circled their prey.

'A COMMON ENEMY,' the single, uniting thought of Tsume and Kuromaru's transformation agreed upon. 'HOW RARE IT IS THAT THE MAN-BEAST IS TOLERABLE. FOR ONCE, WE HOPE HE DOES NOT FALTER.'

Beside them, one of the two heads of Gonza's transformation howled out a war-cry, it's other head, and surprisingly, both Tsume and Kuromaru's heads, echoed him.

It was going to be a good, hard battle.

.

~ X ~

.

Shikaku was being tended to by an Anbu unit and was slowly coming to as Danzo made his appearance finally, bleeding profusely from a gash in his forehead and sporting several bloody imprints on his robes.

Hiruzen and Minato shared a look, their earlier doubts of the man's loyalty slipping away as the story came out and Danzo had an opportunity to explain himself.

"—Before I knew it, the perpetrator had phased through a dozen of my men and had sucked the other half into some space-time Dojutsu in his eye. It reeks of sharingan involvement, we should corner the Uchiha clan and force them to give up any names they might be hiding of missing nin or those who would intentionally turn on the village. It could be anyone behind that mask."

Minato watched him thoughtfully. "You think we should suspect them because they might have something to do with the jutsu used tonight? I don't want to jump to any conclusions and direct the blame to an entire clan who make up the backbone of our village."

"When you get to my age, Namikaze-san, you understand that sometimes, being suspicious can save countless lives," Danzo harrumphed, limping past the Yondaime to approach his old friend who was hurriedly setting down complicated seals around the small wooden platform they had created for baby Naruto to sit on. A single mistake, and the whole thing would unravel, so he was being particularly careful about it, adding in a few extra additions to the circuit that took Minato a few moments to decipher. Danzo looked less than pleased with how long Hiruzen was taking, and his lips thinned as he took in the deep damage done the Sarutobi's arms, frowning at the damage the Kyuubi dealt to his long lived rival. "Must you keep going, Hiruzen? The boy is more than capable finishing the seal, if you spend another moment fretting over it uselessly, you could keel over and die. How would the other nations view our country if they heard the third Hokage was so up in arms doing someone else's job he worked himself to death?"

"Then the other nations would remember me as a man dedicated to keeping his village safe above all else," Hiruzen replied, only looking up at his longtime rival once he was completely finished. As he got up off his knees, his joints cracked painfully, and the old man held his injured arms close to his chest as if that would make the intense pain go away. "My part of the seal is done, though. We can continue on with the rest part of our plan."

"Which is…?" Danzo asked skeptically. The blood from the gash on his forehead dripped down his chin onto the ground below—almost as if it were with impatience—as each drip counted for priceless seconds ticking by.

"I don't recognise this symbol, Sarutobi-sama," Minato pointed out, looking down at a particularly odd shaped design on the wooden platform they had constructed. He took a closer look at it, squinted his eyes as Naruto wriggled in his arms, exhausted and tired after being born only a new hours earlier. "It looks like… soul? It's not a symbol I would have used myself. Are you completely confident that this won't throw off the entire array?"

Hiruzen nodded his head and allowed Minato and Danzo to look over his work, understanding their confusion. "It's not something I've ever used regularly, but at this point, it seems like the time to use it to it's full potential."

Danzo narrowed his eye at the old man, not taking his words at face value. "What you choose to do may impact the future of the village, I urge you to think clearly on this subject, and to not allow your judgement to swayed by your current emotional status."

Minato squawked at Danzo's complete disregard of Biwako's death, and waited for Hiruzen to defend himself, only, no heated words came as he expected.

Hiruzen simply patted Danzo's shoulder and smiled at his old friend. "I appreciate the concern. You don't have to worry, the seal will hold, I stake my life on it."

"You'd be doing more than that if the faulty thing ends up breaking," Danzo darkly muttered, watching as Hiruzen walked past him to stand next to minato. His one dark pupil watched the two of them under a heavily lidded eyelid, and he sighed and looked away. "I wonder if you even listen to me at all, or if you've just been deaf all these years and I'm only finding out about it now. I wouldn't be surprised in the last, coming from you Sarutobi…"

"What was that? Could you say that again?" Hiruzen put a hand up to his ear and smiled when his old friend scowled at his joke. "There, there, let a grieving man laugh, why don't you?"

He turned to Minato and nodded, letting the younger man gently (hesitantly) place the child in his arms onto the podium in front of them as the Kyuubi raged on below them. Up above the village, standing on the top of first Hokage's forehead, the seal lit up the moment Naruto landed in the center, and bright red ink crawled over the baby's skin, burning with the same harsh glow as the words written down in a spiraling, circular pattern over the whole platform. With the whole podium built with Hashirama wood, the chakra-laced platform glowed like a bright red beacon, drawing all attention to it from every direction.

As the Kyuubi's head rose up out of the smog and dust it had created—distracted by Inuzuka and Akimichi pinning it down to the ground—it's eyes widened with recognition as the light from the seal intensified even more, reaching out with invisible hands and pulling the Kyuubi forward, dematerializing it's form and sucking the demon towards it with a tenacious hunger.

The beast cried out in vain as it's claws sunk into the ground, tearing at cement and uprooting streetlamps in its desperate attempt at escape,. Soon enough it's paws melted away into smoke and the creature's body was lifted from the ground, chakra returning to it's basic form and its physical body deteriorating like vapour.

Hiruzen and Minato slammed their hands into the wood as the Kyuubi got closer, their chakra intermingling with the seal work as the demon chakra began filtering into the small, infant Uzumaki that awoke with a startled cry as poisonous orange chakra infiltrated his core and was sucked up into his system—

"I'm sorry Naruto, I'm so sorry!"

—And the baby was a screamer.

"I know it's bad, I know little guy, just hang in there a little longer, it'll be over soon!" Minato winced as his hands burnt from the seal, but it hurt more to see his newborn son in so much agony already. He didn't know if the poor baby could take that much stress.

Danzo held onto his cane as the demon chakra sent up a dust cloud around them and the swell of chakra sent the nearby Anbu to their knees. "He can't hear you! Just get it over with!"

"He's not as resistant to the Bijuu's chakra as Kushina," Hiruzen shot back at Minato, understanding his anxiety immediately. "Just keep a steady hold on the nine tails as much as you can to lessen the load on him, and we should be fine!"

"Okay, okay, I—" Minato found his attention drawn towards the glowing seal Hiruzen had scrawled into the array, glowing with a striking white-blue colour as opposed to the intense red that coloured the rest of the platform. He shot a warning look at Hiruzen, suddenly doubting his words from earlier. "Sarutobi-sama? What's happening?"

Hiruzen shook his head and slumped a little as the blue seal grew whiter, visibly sucking up the older man's remaining chakra and something else with it.

Danzo was at his side at an instant, the Kyuubi forgotten as most of it was pulled inside baby Naruto, and Minato was stuck keeping the seal stable. "What is the meaning of this? What have you done you old fool?!"

Minato realized with a crashing realization just what he had done, far too late. "You altered the array so that it used your soul instead of your chakra to seal the Kyuubi. Why? We could have done it without you sacrificing yourself!"

Hiruzen fell to his side, the seal glowing brightly without his contribution anymore, and he shot the two men crowding over him an exhausted smile. "A weak seal would strip the child of having a normal life without constant supervision, at least now with my soul binding it…."

"You've gone senile, you daft old man!" Danzo caught Hiruzen in his arms as the last the of the Kyuubi was sucked inside the spiral array on Naruto's stomach, and the bright lights from the seal sputtered and died, no longer useful. "What did I just say about the other villages? With your death, they'll pounce on us like animals. The village needs it's Hokage at a time like this!"

Hiruzen's mouth curved into a smile, and his head weakly turned towards Minto, holding a sobbing child in his arms, rocking it with a tender care. "Then it's a good thing that it has one to pick up where this old fool left off, don't you agree?"

"Hiruzen," Danzo stressed, pulling the old man closer. The gash on his forehead dripped down onto the old man's cheek, and it dribbled down the side of his face as if Danzo had shed a tear into the face of his old friend. "You never did listen to a word I said to you, did you?"

Sarutobi gently patted Danzo's arm, closing his eyes with a peaceful sigh. "I'm thankful I had your companionship, my old friend. Having you here by my side in the end was a blessing."

Danzo shook his head in disgust and looked up at Minato, as if pleading the Yondaime for help to make the old man see reason. "Namikaze, don't tell me you're okay with this. This is lunacy! Tell him he's crazy."

Minato's eyes were wide and glassy as he knelt down next to Hiruzen and he bobbed a sobbing Naruto in his arms. The infant wailed and screamed with demon chakra coursing through his system, but the only person that seemed bothered by the noise was Danzo.

"Sarutobi-sama…" Minato's breath caught in hs throat, and he looked down and clasped Hiruzen's hand with his, gently squeezing his palm. He sniffled, and looked down at the old, tarnished wedding ring on the Third's finger. "You said you always hoped you were the one to die first… I think I understand why you're doing this now."

"What is he talking about?" Danzo asked, sounding very desperate now that Hiruzen's chakra began fading. "Namikaze, what do you mean?"

"Biwako... I'll be with you soon…" Sarutobi chuckled as the sun came up of the horizon, painting the night sky a pale, gentle pink as the sunlight touched down on the rest of konoha, caressing the old man's face with a warm glow. "K...Konoha lives another day… Minato…. you have my faith…. Lead them through….. these troubling…. d….dark times…. The fate of… their... safety…..lies….on… your...…..should…..ers…."

"Hiruzen? No, no!" Danzo cursed as his old friend's head lolled back and his chakra signature faded from existence, his expression peaceful, as if the old man had simply closed his eyes for an early morning nap.

Minato held Naruto a little closer, the baby's cries ringing out atop the Hokage monument. He sniffled, tears spilling over his cheeks onto the Third's cold, clammy hand. "He's gone."

"I can't accept that," Danzo hissed, tearing himself away from the body of his former friend. Minato gently eased the Third to the ground, careful not to jostle his head or disrupt the peaceful expression on his face.

He leaned back and held Naruto close, wiping at his eyes with the back of his hands. "A-at least he wasn't in any pain."

"That's all you have to say for yourself? At least he didn't suffer?" Danzo's eye was wide and glassy despite his decades of training to keep him from doing otherwise. "You have no idea what you're talking about here—the kind of man he was..."

He took a deep breath and composed himself, his eyes fixed on the body on the ground. He shook his head and looked out at the village below them as the rest of Konoha breathed a sigh of relief now that they no longer had to fear for their lives. Danzo's eyes stayed fixed to the skyline as he took out an old, worn pipe from inside with robes, and he tapped it against his cane to clear the soot from the inside chamber before relighting it.

He stole one last glance back at Hiruzen, and he shook his head, his voice bitter. "Always the martyr, even to the very end." His one eye glanced at Minato, and the two of them shared a long, pregnant silence. Opening his mouth, an ashy white cloud of smoke escaped Danzo's lips and evaporated in the warm morning air. "I... trust you don't require my services this very second? I… require… some time alone."

"Yes, of course," Minato bowed his head in sympathy, and soon enough, he was left alone for a with the corpse of his teacher's teacher, and his crying, sobbing son.

In an act of respect he took off his long white jacket and laid it over Hiruzen's body.

...

Anbu soon swarmed the area after that.

"The third is dead!"

"Lord hokage, what are your orders?"

"Is the container stable?"

"Are we to continue with the evacuation of the village?"

"Sir," Anbu Hound limped forward and bend down on one knee, paying his respects. The morning sun hit the young man's spiky silver hair with a blinding light. "We await your signal."

Minato sighed and tucked Naruto into the left side of his jacket as he sat up. The handful of surviving Anbu were bruised and battered from all the fighting, but he had to commend them all for sticking it out so long. Even though some of them (his eyes glanced at Hound as the teenager continued to kneel) were completely out of their league fighting the Masked man and the Kyuubi at once.

Internally, Minato knew he would have to eventually come up with a name for their masked attacker, but at the moment, he was too tired by the entire world to even care anymore. The immediate threat had been dealt with, but hundreds, if not thousands of people needed to be pulled from the debris and ruined buildings the Kyuubi had torn down in it's rampage.

"Have our units focus their energy on recovery of civilian life," Shikaku suggested, hobbling over to the podium and sporting several new scars to his face. He held his side at an awkward angle, and two medics trailed after him holding gauze and bandages. He ignored them and ordered them to focus their attention elsewhere, a deep groan escaping his throat as he sat down next to Minato. "Even with the barriers we put up, there's still no telling how many people were able to evacuate in time. Send units of three and assign them to a grid, corresponding with each major road. Evac to bunkers isn't necessary anymore, but they should have better equipment than what we have on hand. We should get some guys setting up shelters too..."

Minato sighed and nodded to the handful of Anbu captains he knew were listening. "Everyone hear that? As soon as you're able to regroup with whatever shinobi you can find, I want a perimeter set up and each block blanketing the area."

"And… What of the Third?" another young Anbu asked as most other units were already gone.

Hound shot the young boy a scathing look behind his porcelain mask. "Jackal, it's not your job to ask what the Hokage will do. You listen to what he has to say, and obey."

"M-my apologies, Hokage-sama." The recruit bowed his head in respect and only lifted his gaze when Minato sighed and waved away the offence. After Jackal gave a brief detailing of their current Inuzuka and Akimichi units from the battlefield, the young man sped off with Hound at his heels, no doubt berating him.

"Well, I guess we're alone now."

Shikaku pulled out an old, foul smelling flask from his jacket pocket and took a shot from it, wincing as the aftertaste hit him a second later. He tucked it away and rubbed his temples as if he had a monumental headache building.

After the day the both of them just had, Minato wouldn't have blamed him.

"Someone's going to have to notify the Third's children that their parents died," Shikaku rubbed the back of his neck. "The grandkids too, probably."

"It's my job to tell the whole village," Minato shot back. "What else is a Jonin Commander good for again, exactly?"

"Beats me," the Nara muttered, pulling out his flask again now that he had even more on his plate. The second time he drank from it, he didn't wince as the aftertaste hit him. Instead, he just sighed and the two of them watched the clouds as the sky got lighter and the sun rose above the Land of Fire.

The rest of the crisis was out of their hands now. Minato didn't know if he should have felt thankful, or deeply wounded by that fact. It was a little somewhere in between.

The only thing he could do now was hope for the best and do what he could. Everything outside his realm of influence would have to wait until later. He could only have faith that Kushina would return to him soon.

Though, admittedly, he had never been much of a religious man.

He would try to be.

For her.

.

~ X ~

.

An: End of chapter 26.


	27. Chapter 27 - The Aftermath

AN: Jiemae and I are updating our stories together! Her story, Cat's Cradle is amazing, and I love love love her work. (SI) Yugito/Kakashi are adorable, and even though I'm partially at fault for her viciously cockblocking them, I dearly love the pairing and you should check out the story if you haven't already! I also made the cover for the fic, it was so much fun ;)

Also! I have a Discord for Project Hana now! Join it at: DUrCV6W where you can see fanart, deleted content, some Wip and more! I warn you now, there's some spoilers in some of the chats and occasional NSFW content from people talking, but it'd be nice to have more people join! It's a little empty still :')

Word count: 5,744

.

~ X ~

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Chapter 27: The Aftermath

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~ X ~

.

The hot sweltering sun beat down on the Land of Fire for the third consecutive day since the Kyūbi attack occurred. Not a single drop of rain fell from the sky from the time the Yondaime addressed the surviving population and told them that their Third Hokage had died, to the time emergency medical centers were set up and search and rescue teams were sent throughout the village.

The sky and moon had been shrouded in a thick, muggy cloud of dust and smoke in the atmosphere that stretched out over the horizon and cast the world in an angry red hue. The calm that followed the attack was a tentative one, any living thing that dared poke their head into the smog kept low to the ground and never dared speaking louder than necessary, for fear that they would break the silence.

Crunch.

"What the...?" A med-nin froze in his tracks, lifting his sandal up to see what he stepped on. Quickly, he bent down to pick it up.

His teammate stood over his shoulder and squinted at the little white object in his hands. "What've you got there?"

"Looks like..." He turned it over in his palm until and scraped off the dirt and grit caked into it with his fingernail. "...a tooth."

"No kidding?" As the med-nin held up the molar, his associate whistled and shook his head at the sight. "Where you think the rest of them is...?"

The medic's expression darkened, he slipped the tooth into his pouch and abruptly stood back up. "Hopefully, nowhere near here."

As the two returned to their group, neither said anything as their leader outlined their next line of action and gave them each a block of buildings in the area.

"Find anything in particular back there? I saw you kneeling." The team leader was a man in his mid-thirties, with deep bags under his eyes and frown lines. As the tooth was held up and passed towards him, his eternal scowl only deepened. "Seems tiny. You think it's even human?"

"From the size of it, it's almost certainly the molar of a child." The team medic nodded towards the sensor assigned to their group, and he gestured for their leader to hand it to her to get a good look at it. "There's barely anything I could detect, but you might be able to get something out of it if there's still a bit of chakra inside."

The woman shook her head almost immediately after she held it in her hands. "No use, the half you got doesn't have the root inside it. If you find that, then maybe, but even if I got a chakra signature it'd be like finding a needle in a haystack."

"Better stick with what we've got," the team leader murmured, folding up their map and tucking it back into his pouch. He jerked his head towards the nearest pile of rubble and told them to get working. "We still have thirty yards of shopping district to comb through before noon. The next team over's already cleared half that in the time we've been loitering, get to it."

With a collective nod, the team spread out amongst the rubble

…

"Hey guys, I got something over here!"

"What is it?" The team medic got there first, spotting the specs of blood amid the dirt and debris. They observed the scene with calculating eyes. "This used to be some sort of store, right?"

"There's more over here," another member announced as they neared the back of what used to be an old smoke shop.

A small yip cried out amongst the piles of bricks, and all three members honed in on the location.

"Did you hear that?"

Their leader made it to the scene and held up a hand to stop them. "If we disturb the area, whoever or whatever is under all that stone could end up in worse shape. Approach with caution."

Another yip.

One member of the team winced and backed away from the rubble. "Can you smell that?"

"Smells like..." Their medic frowned, easing up to the pile of bricks as much as he possibly could. Between the ash and smog, there was a definite trace of spices and upturned earth. Among that, bodily fluids, blood and the strongest of all... "decay."

Their sensor knelt down and let her chakra mix with the earth, feeling out each individual rock and pebble in the area until the whole building was soaked in energy. She pursed her lips as another sound cried out from somewhere inside the collapsed building, and her brow furrowed in concentration as she desperately tried to pinpoint the location. The building was much larger than she had first expected, it's foundation reaching deeper into the earth far more than any other buildings she had observed before.

When she was done, she looked up at the rest of her team and grimaced, her hands breaking contact with the chakra soaked soil, breaking off her connection to the people inside. "We're going to need more medics."

"How many?"

Her brow furrowed. "three non-humans... one human, small. There might be... another but..." She shook her head. "It doesn't look good."

Their leader scowled. "Then we better get to work fast."

.

~ X ~

.

It had been several days after the initial attack, but Itachi had not left the protective safety of the bunkers since he first entered with Shinko and Izumi. After Hasuki-san had offered to help the injured and Itachi had been asked to look over kiba, he had spent several hours in the waiting room tending to the infant before the remainder of the Inuzuka clan (who had been fighting outside) filtered in, and Tsume took responsibility for her son.

There was a moment when the two of them looked at one another in silence. Each on the verge of asking the same question, before the very obvious answer became more and more apparent.

(The person they were looking for was not there.)

Which meant more waiting and uncertainty.

After Tsume had limped to the infirmary and instructed a much larger, muscled Inuzuka to stay and get medical treatment, Itachi had lost sight of her in the crowd and eventually got whisked away by his own clansmen, minutes later. He didn't see Tsume, Hasuki, Kuromaru, or Hana's little brother for some time after that, the underground was so disorganised, moving around meant potentially getting lost within the throngs of people, and after his mother had shed tears of joy at their reunion, he realized he couldn't leave his family behind to go in search of his missing friend.

Itachi didn't want to get in anyone's way, and he was thankful to see that his mother, father, and baby brother were safe and sound, but the burning desire to know what happened slowly ate away at him over the days he spent holed up with the rest of his clan. They had an entire portion of the underground to themselves, but the clan's building anxiety and desire for fresh air after so many days pent up in a small space started to get to them. Coupled with the Sharingan's ability to record perfect memories... one didn't need a bloodline ability to remember the way the nine tailed fox destroyed their homes and burnt their loved ones to a crisp. Safety was a hollow word amongst the Uchiha.

Itachi had been sleeping on the ground next to his mother when he heard the frantic sobs of one of his clansmen start up again.

"We're all gonna die... we're all going to die..!"

The woman next to the young man crouched down by his side and offered him her hand. "Pease, cousin, the worst is over—"

"No!" Itachi heard the man slap her hand away and scramble backward. He heard the man's erratic breathing, and with the faintest pulse of his own chakra, sensed the man's frantically thumping heartbeat. "Get away from me! I can't trust you, you could be one of them!"

"One of who?" Itachi turned over in his bed (as did others, who had trouble sleeping) and he saw the woman's pale complexion as she stared down the sharp edge of a kunai held in front of her. "Akihito please, you're not making any sense... Just... put down the knife."

"No, no, I won't! I'm not safe!" The man said, backing away from her with a desperate look in his eyes. He looked like a deranged animal, his dark eyes bloodshot and wild. Part of his face was patched up with old bandages, and Itachi could see the faint flicker of blood as he turned his head from side to side, watching as other clansmen approached him trying to put down the weapon. "T-The demon! You're all with the demon! Get away from me! Stay back!"

"Akihito..." The young woman from before slowly eased up to him with her hands up, speaking in a gentle voice.

Itachi would have sworn that she wasn't afraid for her own safety, had he not seen her trembling fingers from the safety of his bed. Her chestnut eyes flickered to the other clansmen, trying to kite the deranged man, and she signaled for them to back off so she could talk to him one on one. Itachi listened with bated breath next to his mother's sleeping form.

"The demon is gone. They sealed it up. You're with your family, it's okay, please..." She shuffled forward until both sounds made by the two of them became one, and they stood in silence. For a while, nobody spoke.

"It can't be gone..." came the man's tiny, pitiful reply. He sounded so small and fragile. Itachi could see the piercing glow from his activated Sharingan from across the room as the man stood rigidly, the events and horror of the attack playing out on his face. "It'll never be gone..."

Itachi heard the woman take a short breath before she spoke again, slow and steady. "Akihito, I know what you mean, but you're scaring everyone. There are children here. We can talk, just give me the—"

"Don't touch me!"

Itachi sat up from his bed the second he heard the man pull back, thrashing against his clansmen as she reached out to touch his arm. The damage was done before the other Uchiha could reach them fast enough, and the woman was on the floor with a deep gouge in her abdomen, bleeding profusely.

"I'm sorry! I'm so sorry!"The kunai dropped from his hands the same time he was mobbed by his clansmen, pulling him back and pinning him to a wall. The young man sobbed and struggled against his restraints, straining to see the face of the woman he had so badly injured. "I-I told you... I told you not to get close!"

"Aki-Akihito..." She said, panting as the room came to life and the man was thrown out of the room. Medics were by her side before she bled out, but Itachi remained awake, watching the entire scene from the back of the room with heavy eyes and an even heavier heart.

He didn't sleep the rest of the night while his clansmen cleaned up the mess. The following morning, her blood could still be seen on the hard cement floor. The man named Akihito didn't return to their bunker the following morning, nor did the woman who tried to stop him.

It wasn't the first time something like that had happened, but all Itachi could do was sit and wait until it was safe to return to the surface. It was easy to lose track of time underground, and while he played the obedient son and looked over his mother and brother, as per his father's instructions, he could not deny the fact that his mind was far from the little bunker that they inhabited. Last night only increased his anxiety.

He...still hadn't heard any news about his friends.

It had been days. News of Izumi's heath had gotten back to him the morning after he had reunited with his clan. Hana on the other hand… no matter how long he sat patiently, waiting for a new development, the more he itched to go out looking by himself to see if they were alright, and... to see if he could be any assistance.

She had to be alive, right? Hana—she was his first friend outside the family. She couldn't—

She couldn't die.

...right?

"Where are you going?" Mikoto looked up from the bundle in her arms and seemed torn between getting up to stop her first son, or looking after baby Sasuke. "Itachi?"

"I'm just going for a walk." It wasn't a lie, but... he still felt guilty as he got up to leave her.

"Please don't go far." She didn't seem satisfied, and added, "And take Shisui with you."

Itachi turned back at her and frowned. "Mother..."

"Please, just... do me a favor?" Mikoto gave him a weak smile and held Sasuke a little closer to her chest. "In case anything happens?"

Itachi swallowed a knot in his throat, vividly recalling the past couple days, and sighed, nodding his head.

The older boy could easily keep up with him as Itachi weaved his way through the busy hallways, following the path he remembered taking "So where are we going?"

Itachi didn't answer at first, not wanting to admit to his cousin that he just want to move and feel like he was actually doing something, but eventually, Shisui kept bugging him and grabbed his arm, freezing him in place.

"I don't know yet," he confessed, letting Shisui pull him off to the side of the hall as they neared one of the main stairways outside. Not the one he had gone through a few days ago, but still busy, as it was still seeing traffic.

Medics and more survivors filtered in, some on stretchers and some carried by loved ones. Their age and state of emergency fluctuated with each person who walked by, but as the two boys watched them go, the one thing that remained the same was their expressions. The shock of what they had just survived was so evident, it seemed to taint the air with its intensity. Some people cried as it finally sunk in, with a crashing realization, that the walls around them would not fall down, and they could finally be safe.

It was a feeling not unfamiliar to the two boys, as they had experienced the same not too long ago. The memory had subsequently sullied when Itachi had realized how empty of a word 'safety' was, and he looked back at the time when they entered the bunker with a bittersweet feeling in his chest. It was naive to think that there was ever a time when monsters or enemy shinobi wouldn't come crawling out of the woodwork, when the world least expected it, but he understood now that one could never drop their guard if they wished to live peacefully inside the village, or anywhere in the elemental nations. The simple act of being alive risked a world of possibilities and the lives of everyone around them, nothing they could do could ensure their total protection, because the world was run by chaos and nothing was certain, he'd be a fool to think otherwise.

Itachi wouldn't shatter the survivor's illusions, however.

(Thankfully he wasn't that jaded yet.)

Itachi pursed his lips and tried to ignore the feeling of Shisui watching him. He stood on his toes and tried to recognize each dirk caked, heavily bruised face that went by as his cousin scrutinized him. Itachi didn't want to explain his motives, and thankfully he didn't need to.

After a while, Shisui joined in Itachi's search and used his Sharingan to help identify some of the patients that were carried past, too hurt to give out their names, in case their loved ones were looking for them.

"This one's a boy, fourteen years old, blonde hair, probably has some Iwa decent... I think his eyes used to be green before he went blind." Shishi shook his head and shrugged at the medic nin who drilled him with a dozen more questions. "I really don't know if I can help other than that. I'd say he has maybe an eighth of his chakra left? Might wanna get on that..."

The older man hefted the child back up and jerked his chin towards Itachi, who remained out of the way, his eyes trailing after more injured people being brought in. "What about your friend there? His eyes any use?"

Shisui glanced back at his cousin and quickly shut down the flow of chakra to his pupils, flicking off his Sharingan when Itachi heard them talking about him. "Uhhhh..."

Itachi looked away a little too quick, fighting the urge to scowl like his father. "No."

Shisui winced and bit back whatever he was going to say next as the older man carried on his way and left the two boys behind. Itachi didn't want to hear anything his cousin had to say, he already felt useless already, the itch to do something and be productive was killing him inside.

He.. was smart enough to know that no matter what kind of person Hana was, they were all mortal, nothing could change that, she was capable of dying just as much as Izumi's father.

Even though... god, he really, desperately hoped that she didn't have the same fate. The fact of the matter was, fewer and fewer people were coming back now that the Kyūbi had been sealed away. Whatever people didn't end up coming back...

Maybe if it was painless, Itachi could rest a little easier at night.

Maybe he wouldn't have to feel such a sharp stab of guilt when he thought of the agony and fear she might've gone through. And Fu too...

"Itachi, are you okay?" Shisui's hands hovered above his shoulder, hesitating for a moment.

Don't touch me! G-get away! echoed the voice of the man last night in Itachi's head, before he flinched away from Shisui's touch and he forced himself to regain his composure.

He could almost hear his father's voice echo in his head. Shinobi weren't allowed to feel emotion, they weren't allowed to show weakness.

And Itachi... wanted to be the perfect shinobi for his father, right?

The weakness that man had fallen to had caused him to hurt one of his own clansmen. He couldn't let himself ever get like that—that desperate and isolated by his own irrational fear—he wouldn't let it get that far.

He wanted to be strong, like his father. Friendship, as Fugaku had put it, could make a person vulnerable. It was a reality all shinobi had to face if they ever wanted to forge relationships.

Then... why did he feel weaker for having lost his with Hana?

It didn't take the Sharingan for Shisui to see Itachi's expression, or to note the rigid way he seemed to hold himself. His cousin's words were soft as the older boy started to lead him back to their quarters. "Hey, we can come back tomorrow... Maybe she'll be there next time?"

How transparent was he being right now? If he hadn't been drowning in guilt, the fact that he was so easy to read would have been an embarrassment. Instead, all he could think about was his own fault in his first friend's disappearance (and likely death). If he had just... pushed a little harder and made sure she didn't go running off...

Itachi rubbed the back of his neck and sighed. "It's been a long time, Shisui."

"Hey, she could show up still," Shisui argued, stepping in front of him to block Itachi's way back. Two Chūnin in charge of the gate outside started closing the doors behind them. "Don't give up so easily."

The image of Izumi's father and the countless other pointless deaths flashed before Itachi's eyes again, and he grimaced. "I'm not giving up, I'm just being realistic."

"Look, nothing has changed until you know for sure there's a—" He shut his mouth and looked away.

Itachi stared into his cousin's eyes with an unflinching intensity. "A what? Say it."

Shisui flinched and refused to continue his previous sentence. A commotion behind them at the gates grabbed both of their attention momentarily, but the two of them disregarded it as it was just another group of stragglers coming back from digging around in the rubble.

Shisui stood next to him as they let the people pass. In a hushed voice, he glanced at Itachi out of the corner of his eye. "You know, it's okay to hold onto hope sometimes. Especially in times like this..."

Itachi sighed and shook his head. "No... I... I shouldn't have come out here. I shouldn't have dragged you into this, I'm sorry."

"Itachi," Shisui made another move to stop the younger boy as made a move to go back to the bunker, but a small sound stopped them.

As the people from the gate passed them by, a faint, feeble yip cried out from a bundle of dirty cloth carried between two men.

The two boys froze and looked at each other.

Shisui's voice was only a whisper. "You don't think…"

Itachi started walking towards the group of scavengers. "It'd be impossible…"

His cousin was right on his heels as the two of them picked up the pace. "But if it was…?"

"There's no way…"

The two of them bolted after the group when another yip sounded out, and the two group were nearing the infirmary in their haste, nearly tripping over all the people sitting on the ground.

"H-Hold on! Slow down!" Shisui stumbled as he brought his hands together, passing Itachi with a handy body flicker, landing directly behind the scavengers as they struggled to get through the clinic doors.

"Kid, get out of the way, now's not the time to be fooling around," grunted the leader of the group as he blocked Shisui's view of their patient. "We've got a kid with a serious head contusion and is bleeding out while you're wasting our time—"

Shisui swallowed and switched on his Sharingan, watching as the group carried in two patients through the doors. Itachi caught up to him from behind and struggled to catch his breath. "And the other one?"

The leader's jaw clenched, and he glanced at one of the bundles. "Dying."

Both boys paled. Itachi was the first one to speak up after a moment of silence. "Please, can you tell us at least… their names?"

The older man rubbed the back of his neck and grimaced. "Sorry, kid. I would if I could, but both of them have been out of it since we dug em' out in the first place."

Shisui tried arguing with him, his red eyes spinning with anxiety. "If I could just get a better look at them with my sharingan—"

"Look... it's been a long day," the man said, glancing at his teammates as a group of medics rushed forward and thook the two heavily injured bundles out of their hands. "At this point, you're just going to have to wait until the doctors are done with them."

Itachi backed up as the clinic doors swung shut behind the little scavenger group, dashing his hope yet again. "But…"

"I'm sorry, kid, but duty comes first."

"Hey, boss…" One of the heavier members of the group struggled with a small duffle bag in his arms, squirming as if it was too much for him to hold onto. "What do we do about our other problem? The medics won't take 'em."

Shisui honed in on the bag with his Sharingan and frowned, seeing something Itachi was unaware of. "What… problem..."

"Ah, just—" both Uchiha stiffened when the bag lurched again, and a tiny nose and pair of teeth poked out the top zipper and growled. "Shit, hey, can I get a hand over here?"

"We'll take them," Itachi automatically said, reaching out for the bag.

The scavenger team looked at each other, and frowned. The leader looked down at the two boys questioningly. "They belong with their rightful owner, you know. Neither of you look like an Inuzuka… "

"We'll look over them while their master is in the clinic," Shisui said quickly, a hopeful lilt to his voice. His eyes returned to their dark coal colour as the back shook again, this time, both Uchiha helped the man as he soothed the animals inside, their hands reaching out to let the dogs sniff their hands through the zipper. Instantly, they quieted to a low whine.

The leader seemed convinced, but he asked one more time. "You sure about this?"

"Positive," Itachi said, and it took all of his self-control not to snatch the little bag away from the guy holding it. Shisui watched him fidget as the scavengers hesitated, but eventually, the group relented and passed the bag over, instructing them to go straight to where the Inuzuka bunker was. As if Itachi would have gone anywhere else with the Haimaru brothers in his arms.

Itachi's heart hammered in his chest and he desperately wanted to go back to the clinic and see for himself what happened, but there were other people who needed to be clued in, and he couldn't have fought his way past the overworked medic nin even if he even tried.

It took them a minute to locate the Inuzuka clan.

"They said they found them near a collapsed building—two of them had managed to dig their way out of the rubble and the other one refused to crawl out from under their owner. T-Tsume-san, they found her."

There were a dozen eyes on the two boys as they unzipped the duffle bag and allowed the Haimaru brothers out, though the three puppies immediately tried to turn around and return to the clinic, a sharp whistle halted them in place and commanded their attention.

The clan head rose from her seat, her ninken watching her with his one yellow eye as she hobbled over, favoring her left side as she held onto her crutches. The bandages around her throat were tight and her voice was hoarse, but her eyes shone with an intensity neither her clansman or Itachi had seen since they had relocated underground in the first place.

"Show me."

.

~ X ~

.

"Mikoto, I know it's a lot of responsibility. I wouldn't have asked for your help if it wasn't Kushina's wish to have you as Naruto's godmother."

She had left Sasuke with her husband when a summons from the Hokage had that night, and though Fugaku had been displeased in her leaving the safety of the Uchiha bunker, she had followed the group of Anbu through the dark passageways to the top of the monument without a word. Well, until Minato confessed the whereabouts of Kushina, and she was told enough about the situation as much as her clearance permitted her.

It was all so much to take in.

The Third was dead. Kushina had been whisked away, half of the Kyūbi along with her, from what she overheard, the other nations had already taken notice of the village's weakness and scouts had reported breaches in their boarder.

And now Minato was asking her to watch after his son for him.

"It's not going to be for long, just while I can get the village back in order," the Yondaime said, running a tired hand through his blond hair. There were prominent bags under his eyes, and Mikoto wondered if he had slept at all in the several days since the attack. She doubted it.

They were alone in his office, underground and repurposed, as it was. Despite the large desk and pile of restricted, confidential scrolls laying around the room, the place was so crammed with supplies that she had no idea how he slept in it in the first place. Let alone Naruto, who lay on Minato's bed and covered in what looked like a partially singed baby blanket.

She hadn't actually gotten to meet the son of her best friend before the accident, and as she approached the newborn child and knelt down to take a look at his sleeping face, her hand reached out to brush away the striking crimson tuft of hair sprouting from his head. It was feather soft, and she found herself tearing up thinking of how happy Kushina would have been if she was where Mikoto stood.

He looked… just like her.

It took a moment for her to find her voice as her gaze dropped to the floor and she struggled to find the right words. All she could think of was that Kushina deserved to be there for her son. She couldn't fill that void for her even if she tried.

"It's not right."

"I know," Minato said from his desk, watching Mikoto with a piercing blue gaze. Despite his exhaustion, his eyes were like ice, and she could feel herself freezing up at his tone. This wasn't the teenaged boy she had gushed with Kushina about in their earlier years, these were the eyes of a general, of a man prepared to make tough decisions. But... when his gaze cast down to look at his sleeping son, part of him seemed to melt under the pressure, and he hastily swallowed and looked away. "I can't ask you for much, I know you have two children of your own to look after. It would be unfair of me to take you away from them, they deserve to have you there."

Mikoto pursed her lips. She understood what Minato was saying, she knew her husband wouldn't have wanted her in such a high risk position, especially since Sasuke was only a few months old himself. The Yondaime's son was the partial container for the Nine-Tailed-Fox, he was a high risk target and one of the most vulnerable asset to the shinobi countries. It was the fear of the Hokage and the higher up members of the village council that the child would be taken away, just as Kushina had been, and without the power that a Jinchuuriki posed in their ranks, Konoha would be in an incredibly weak position.

"I'm not asking for you to give me an answer right away. You're free to return to your husband and talk it through with him. I don't expect much to change in your current living status other than the fact that you would have to reside here instead of the bunker you share with the rest of you clan," Minato explained, leaning against the side of his desk. He lowered his voice as Naruto turned in his bed, disturbed by the conversation going on around him. "You would have to stay here while the rest of the evacuees return to Konoha when it's safe. Until a more secure location can be made, you would be under constant supervision and have several methods of contacting me other than an Hirashin seal." He crossed his arms over his chest and gave her an earnest stare. "If there's one thing I've learned in the past several days, is that I can't guarantee your safety, but at the very least… you wouldn't be alone. And you'd be able to see your family anytime they want to come visit."

"I understand that this would be of the utmost secrecy, right? I can't… explain to Itachi, for instance, why I can't be around…"

Minato shook his head. "I'm afraid not. This would be an S rank mission if you accepted it. Surely you understand…"

Of course she did.

She also understood that one had very little say in critical missions such as these. A shinobi did as they were told, and put their lives at stake for the job. Her assignment would be no different. It didn't matter if Minato dressed up his request as if he were asking a family friend, he wasn't asking as one. Naruto was more than just her godson, he was the last remaining Uzumaki of the village and their only way to secure the Kyūbi. If she refused, she would be a traitor to everything the village lived and died for; what the third Hokage had given up his life for.

Minato was only being polite in his request. That much was certain.

Sighing, she folded her hands in the fabric of her dress, regarding the Hokage with a tight lipped smile. "I'm not under the illusion that I have much say in the matter, regardless of what my husband thinks. You're aware as much as I am that I can't deny one of the final wishes of my best friend."

She glanced back at the sleeping baby, his rosy red cheeks, donned with whisker marks and perfect, clear skin. Her eyes traced the top of his red feathery crown, and she found herself at ease for the first time since the attack. At least she could do something to help. She didn't have to play the role of the distressed wife or clingy mother. Sasuke and Itachi would suffer for her loss, but… they did have their father to look after them. They could work something out, and it wouldn't be forever. She'd get to protect a part of her best friend. Mikoto wouldn't give up hope that things would eventually turn out for the better.

For them, and Kushina…

Wherever she was now.

Mikoto wouldn't let her down. She knew that the moment she set foot in the room.


	28. Chapter 28 - The Healing Process

_**An:**_ _I got a bit sidetracked by writing other fics (like my other SI, Sharpening stones, a male Iwa SI, if anyone's interested) and working on stupidly large art projects for my third year of university. I got double dog-dared to update though, so I couldn't let that slide_

 _Also! Another SI Hana fic has popped up! You have no idea how happy this makes me, not being alone anymore! As they are now, they have a super fast update schedule and already have such an awesome word count, go check out_ _ **Bloodless**_ _by_ _ **Tavina,**_ their Hana is super cool and they deserve more reviews

 **Wordcount:** 6,749

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 **~ X ~**

 **.**

 **Chapter 28 - The Healing Process**

 **.**

 **~ X ~**

 **.**

There was an old superstition passed on through generations in her clan about corpses whose eyes remained open while they waited for burial.

Tsume never put much faith in wives tales other than to acknowledge that they must have come from somewhere, as any shinobi worth their salt did. She could not deny the idea that some stories held weight to them, no matter how much they unnerved her.

Seeing Hana hooked up to a machine with a tube down her throat was hard. There was also no denying that.

Her little girl was dry to the touch. Her hands—somehow Tsume expected them to be warmer and colder at the same time. They were just… limp and wilted. She didn't sweat much. Tsume suspected it had something to do with the dehydration. She knew Hana as a girl with hands always fiddling; bunched up in her pockets or twitching about. That anxiety that she had kept tucked away always surfacing in the way her hands moved, sometimes on their own accord.

 _The skin around her wrists was starting to peel. Did any of the medic's care? Wasn't that itchy?_

Hana's sunburn was finally starting to go down. Three days in the sun, burnt in strange patches and no medic was around to check if her daughter could have been aching to itch her face or her arms or anything—Tsume supposed that was what a mother was for, but…

God, what was a mother anyway? Just a person. A person who could lose track of her eldest child when they needed her the most. What kind of a parent was she? She was such a failure— _a fool._ How could this have happened? The things Hana must have seen...

Sitting by the little hospital bed for two weeks helped her forget the wounds she bore from the battle herself. At least she had the opportunity to strike the Kyūbi head on, (or heads on, man-beast transformation and all) but the fact that she could do nothing but watch as the doctors pulled her daughter away every time when a complication arose… or that Tsume couldn't do more than hold Hana's limp little hand and trace the callouses on her fingers… She couldn't brush her hair or help fluff her pillows for fear of making things worse.

The gauze wrapped around Hana's head was done perfectly. Tsume hated it with a dull, tired passion. She wished she was strong enough to stomach the ugly, raised stitches on the side of Hana's head or the fact the wound had to be re-opened for healing. She hated knowing that whatever it was that was causing the complications was beyond her scope of knowledge. She hated just sitting there, holding Hana's hand, being useless. It reminded her too much of how one of her brothers died. Hell, everything about this reminded her of her loved ones who ended up dying. Death was fucking everywhere. They had already lost Inuzuka during the Kyūbi attack. Hana _couldn't_ be one of them.

 _(Please- please, god, don't let her be one of them.)_

Tsume wasn't the religious kind, but she found herself praying a lot in the two weeks that Hana remained in the intensive care ward. It was cramped and humid underground with so many others suffering and in pain. Tsume didn't breathe a sigh of relief when Hana was eventually transferred to a larger medical bunker with her own room this time. Sure, there was some privacy allowed, but Tsume would not let her guard down until Hana was fit enough to run laps around the village. And maybe not even then.

They had many visitors while Hana slept. Or, well, was comatose. The doctors said it was only a matter of time before she woke up, but time kept slipping by, and the knot in Tsume's stomach only embedded itself deeper in her guts, eating away at her like a hungry growth. Twisting, _twisting_. She hadn't been this anxious since her first mission on the front lines.

"No visual response yet." Doctor Tanaka tucked his flashlight back into his pocket, scribbling down his findings on Hana's chart before making his way out of the room. It was a process Tsume had gotten used to by now. Tanaka was experienced and was one of the chief medics in Konoha, Tsume had to learn to trust his judgment. "It'd be best if she woke up herself sooner rather than later, you already know that there are other alternatives we could approach if that isn't the case. I'll keep you updated on any Yamanaka with the proper training if you feel like changing your mind, Inuzuka-san."

"Right, yes, thank you for your time…" Tsume chewed on her thumbnail as the man shut the door behind him, tucking her legs underneath her as she sat and listened to the sound of Hana's breathing apparatus.

An old wives tale passed on from mother to child… Listless eyes with no life…. The hunters that their people descended from used to speak of spirits who stole the souls of the dead and twisted them to their wicked ways if they died with their eyes open. What sort of stories would Tsume's ancestors tell if they were here now? What would they think of medically induced comas or surgery? Would their stories still incorporate the same fear and unknowing?

God, this was really fucking up her head.

She found herself getting wistful over the stupidest things as she sat in limbo. The not knowing must have made her more desperate than she thought. She found herself missing Hana's long hair, even though the pup always kept it in a ponytail. She missed the smell of graphite pencils and acrylic paint. She found herself dreaming of rainy days of her and Hana and Tatsuo, nestled up on the couch, Hana tucked between them as Tsume drank in the smell of earth and Tatsuo's cigarette smoke, clinging to his shirt as Hana stirred in her sleep. Kuromaru by the fire stinking of rainwater and Tsume pressed her face into the crook of her partner's neck, his heartbeat a steady thrum beneath his warm skin—

"What are you doing here?"

He didn't answer outright. It gave Tsume time to muster up enough energy to drag her eyes away from Hana's face for the first time and look at the man she once wanted to share the rest of her life with. He looked sheepish ( _rightly so, the bastard_ ) but he didn't look guilty for showing his face now. Somehow that only ticked her off further, but she waited until he had an opportunity to defend himself. It would make throwing his shitty excuse for not showing up sooner back in his face all the sweeter.

"I heard she'd be here."

Tatsuo Shibata had not benefitted from his service out on the border. Suna had leathered his face and deepened his frown lines that Tsume had once had a mind to smooth out. No longer. His beard had grown more unruly, hardly trimmed, that stunk of sweat and more— _ugh_ —cigarette smoke. Back when they were teenagers, she used to like the smell. It was cool, he was a _bad boy_ her parents couldn't stand because he smelled like nicotine and ash; the kind that lingered in the house long after he left. She could still smell traces of him in their bedroom. Or, well, she used to, before the Kyūbi attack. Now she wondered if there was even a home left for them to go to. Certainly, it didn't include him. He had shown her how shallow his loyalty ran.

(Some _bad boy_. Turned out, Tatsuo was pretty good at being bad at things in general.)

A small part of her hoped that the house they once shared was gone, wiped clean from the earth by one the Kyūbi's paws or scorched and burnt to cinders so she could start fresh again without him. But it had been her father's house and her childhood home once, petty weakness clouded her judgment and made her wish for foolish things that made her chest ache no matter what. There was no winner either way with what she wanted, Tatsuo included.

It was all so… exhausting. She was tired of struggling so much. She was tired of fighting for things she couldn't have.

"What do you want?" Her gaze drifted back to her daughter and she heard Tatsuo pull up a chair. She let him.

The two of them sat with nothing but the sound of Hana's heart monitor setting a steady rhythm to their silence. The longer it stretched on, the more Tsume grew agitated. When he spoke, it didn't make things any better. "Border patrol was called back to fill in the gaps left. I heard you fought when... when it all happened."

Tsume's good leg swung out from under her to tap the pair of crutches assigned to her. She didn't need them, really, the worst damage done to her leg had been healed and the muscles knit back together, but it was the demon chakra circulating in her system that kept the doctors worried. She and the other frontline shinobi had been exposed to the most, and while her system was more than capable of dealing with poisonous energy thanks to years of training, she knew other shinobi were still suffering the effects. Men and women dropping like flies, weeks after the fight. At least they knew what they were dealing with, even if was just a matter of waiting for the Kyūbi's chakra to dissipate. Sometimes it took months. The effects were there, Tsume wouldn't deny that—maybe that was why she was feeling so suspicious lately. The fox's little hooks had dug in her brain and were whispering things to her, trying to get her to turn on her neighbors.

Maybe that was why she was humoring Tatsuo now too. That damn fox was meddling with her marital life, the bastard.

She found her throat closing up when she spoke about her daughter. "They found her lying in a pile of rubble three days after they sealed it back up down in the old market district. A slab of concrete hit her in the head when one of the buildings crumbled. The only reason she's alive is because of the Haimaru Brothers, but even then, the fact that the concrete didn't kill her completely is a goddamn miracle."

Tsume watched him digest the information and tried to read his face as he sorted it out. She didn't know why she wanted to torture herself, angsting over if it mattered if he cared or if he was just there to screw with her head. Evidently, it was working, because Tsume wasn't as hard-pressed to tear him a new one as she thought she would.

"What was she even doing out there?" He wondered aloud. His hand reached out involuntarily, and Tsume's heartbeat spiked, afraid he was going to touch Hana's hand. He tugged on a corner of her sheet instead and Tsume was caught halfway between relieved and disappointed.

She rested her head in her hands. "There was another kid with her. From what I could gather, they were trying to seek shelter after having a discussion outside of class."

Tatsuo's eyes roved over Hana's white cotton bandages wrapped around her head, his fingers twitching as if wanting to touch them and see if they were real. "Let me guess... which one drew the short stick?"

Tsume was immediately defensive. "It's not a competition," she argued. Tatsuo immediately sighed, as if already knowing exactly where this was headed. "It was an accident. We're all the unlucky ones in this situation. Then again I guess I forgot which one of us was an insufferable prick—I should have known better."

"I'm not here to fight," he pleaded, rubbing his forehead. "Can we just sit and talk like adults for a little bit? I'm not ready to deal with this right now."

A flurry of insults and jabs danced on her tongue but Tsume ground her teeth together and kept her mouth shut, just this once. Hana didn't deserve to hear them fight in the state she was in.

Tatsuo appreciated her silence. _The bastard_. "Thank you."

He sounded weary. She realized he had probably just come from the border the moment he returned to Konoha—his pants were streaked with mud and his jacket slick with water and sweat from days of solid traveling. He desperately needed a bar of soap. Tsume sunk back into her seat and drew her legs up to her chest and closed her eyes, trying to drown out the scent of earth and musk from her mind.

 _Fireplace crackling, baby by her side. There was a silence comforted by the sound of his breathing and the gentle rise of their chests as they dozed together, a family, the pitter patter of their hearts a gentle harmony—_

Tsume shook her head and asked Tatsuo to repeat himself.

"I said, what happened to the other kid?"

Tsume held onto herself a little tighter. Hana's heartbeat monitor, a little war drum beating away.

"I don't want to talk about it."

How many times had she seen her daughter and Fu hanging out together? He had been her friend. He had hung out at their house together. The kid had barely been over twelve years old—she didn't know what she was going to tell Hana when she woke up. Would she blame herself? Would she blame the Kyūbi? What were they even doing out by the old market? _How could she have let this happen..._

"Are you alright?" Her thoughts must have reflected on her face, the amount of pity Tatsuo was giving off was enough to keep her from spiraling. He didn't get to try and sympathize with her, not after _everything_.

"I'm fine." Tsume pushed herself up onto her feet and grabbed her crutches, heading out to the door. She grabbed a little paper cup from earlier and started hobbling down to the nearby water cooler. Tatsuo lingered for a moment but followed her. _Damn_ , she was hoping he'd stay put so she could leave, but then again, she didn't want to leave him alone with Hana. If she woke up and saw him, she didn't know how things would go down. She mostly just wanted him gone again.

"How long do you think she's going to be out?" she made him wait until she was done chugging her water, and then wait a second time after she filled up her cup and chugged that one too. She wasn't even that thirsty. "Tsume?"

"It's day by day now." She got a look from a nearby nurse doing her rounds as the water cooler gurgled and went down further as she got her third cup. Tatsuo tapped his foot impatiently waiting for more answers, but Tsume just shrugged and told him she didn't have any. "I'd tell you more if I could."

"So we could be waiting forever, then." He rubbed his temples. "Fantastic."

Tsume looked at him warily. "There's no _'we_ '. It's just me—has been for a while now, and that's not changing."

"I know that, I just—" he grimaced and started backtracking. "I just meant... I'm aware, okay? I didn't mean it like that."

"Then why did you say it in the first place?" Tsume emptied her cup for the last time, turning it over in her hands as she looked at Tatsuo from the corner of her eye. She swallowed awkwardly as the same images of family and warmth came rushing back to her, and she had to forcibly cycle chakra to her head to quit the niggling sensation of demon chakra to get her thoughts back in order, but not before words started tumbling out of her mouth that he didn't deserve hearing. "We've actually been doing really good recently. Hasuki and I have been looking through my family's storage for when we can teach the kids clan stuff. Kiba knows all of our faces, Hasuki, Kuromaru, even the Haimaru brothers. He's adorable. 'Looks just like Hana did when she was little too."

There was a pause. It seemed like Tatsuo completely missed the pride in her voice and didn't catch her underhanded way of giving him a bit of information about their family— _that he skipped out on_ —because the only thing he zeroed in on was his beef with Hana. "...does he _act_ like her at all? You know, the stareing. The weirdness."

"Does it _matter_?" Tsume curled her lip at him, disappointed and not at all surprised.

"I don't _know_." Tatsuo glowered at her. "Why do you always have to be on the attack all the time?"

She crushed her paper cup in her hands and tossed it into the garbage. "I thought you said you didn't want to fight."

"I _did_."

"Then we aren't fighting."

She could hear him grind his teeth together as he shoved his hands into his pockets. " _Fine, whatever_."

Tsume grunted, turning on her heel. "Go pester someone else if that's what you want, I'm done here." She wrinkled her nose as she strode by him, giving him a very obvious once over, "and go take a shower. It's a wonder the nurses haven't kicked you out already."

She retired to her old chair and propped her tired feet up on the one he sat in, distracting herself from old memories of teenage rebellion and cigarettes and Tatsuo— _god_ —by remembering the days when she and her brothers ran the streets of Konoha, pranking civilians and roughhousing in the backyard before they moved house.

 _Family, family family_. Tsume felt like she was drowning, not by the foreign chakra in her system, but by her own hand. She was so sick and tired of seeing the cracks in her relationships. When Hana woke up—because she had to, Tsume needed her to—everything would be fine. Blood was what kept the inuzuka together, and it was family that kept her going even when everything else had gone rotten.

Tsume would do better this time because she had to.

She wasn't willing to start over. Not again.

 **.**

 **~ X ~**

 **.**

Heartbeat, breathing. Was this what it was like to be dying?

In and out, sore throat. _Itchy itchy itchy_ —she felt like she was floating above her body, the world knocked out of its axis and put back in the wrong place. She couldn't open her eyes, couldn't breathe without choking. What happened? Her throat was so sore. _God, if she could just have some water…_

 _Thirsty._ She a dying man in a desert, blinded by the sun. Sand prickled her fingers and plunged her scorching skin into a chill so cold Hana couldn't tell heat from freezing. Her mind did a hundred somersaults before she found the strength to open her eyes, and even when she did, her vision was fleeting and they fell closed again.

Her eyelids were so, _so_ heavy. It was a battle to keep from drifting and she frequently found herself losing.

She… This wasn't how it was supposed to go, right? Waking up was supposed to be _easy_. Her chest ached, running on fumes. She was hurt. She was somewhere—someone had found her, that much she could remember. Sort of. Hana saw nothing when she opened her eyes other than blue cotton and tacky shower curtains hanging from the ceiling. She thought she was staring up at the sky, big square clouds hanging over her, unmoving.

She heard people walking by her, once or twice asked for someone to give her some water to help her throat, but something was keeping her from forming words. Her gums itched. Her skin itched. Everything about her was in different states of discomfort. Her back stuck to the plastic sheets underneath her as the nurses changed her tubes and adjusted her pillows. Her eyes fluttered and threatened to roll back in her head when her delicate sunburnt skin felt a wash of cool hospital air—and then met once more with scratchy fabric pressing up against it, _the pain was paralyzing._

They had her on some sort of medication or something that kept her drowsy and complacent as the nurses scurried around and did tests. That, or she had been hurt a lot more than she realized, since she didn't even have the strength to lift herself out of bed. Hana didn't know how long she managed to stay awake and she didn't really know where she was, but she had the lingering feeling like things should have gone differently. She had read so many novels back home that said she was supposed to have some sort of revelation while she was asleep. The doctors said she had been in a medically induced coma for the past while—wasn't she supposed to… like, meet her inner demons or something? Or have some sort of awakening of the mind? Or find some sort of resolve she didn't know she had? But—

…nothing?

In the end she was left with nothing but the sound of her heart rate monitor to carry her back off to sleep.

She didn't even dream.

She didn't have some sort of prophetic vision of the future, or saw the faces of her past family, she didn't get to say goodbye to her past loved ones or hear their voices. She didn't see herself reflected in any hypothetical mirrors or get to face down her own evil twin, as much as that would've made for a great story.

She didn't see anything, really. And she was a little too dead to the world to even care.

"Hana-san, I'm going to need you to open your eyes for me please, and then you can go back to sleep."

More tests to see if her brain was damaged. They got more frequent and annoying the more they kept waking her up. The fight to keep her eyes open was getting harder and harder, and she didn't have enough energy to argue with them when they started prodding at her.

 _She just wanted to fall back into the haze and forget anything bad ever happened. Please_ — _everything was so much easier when she was asleep…_

"Very good, very good. Now, can you lift your left arm for me?"

Her body was mostly working on autopilot—chest rising and eyes open but not really seeing anything. She lifted one arm and dimly hoped that it was the one the nurse asked for, only vaguely aware of the tube in her skin resisting the movement. She _hated_ needles with a _passion_ , but the most she could muster up was a vague sense of disgust.

The nurse made a humming sound and scribbled something down in her notebook. "Thank you Hana-san. Okay, you can go back to sleep now. Your mother wants you to rest up."

 _Sure, okay,_ her lips mouthed silently, before her eyes drifted shut.

If she had been completely awake, she probably would've expected her mother to actually be in her hospital room, holding her hand or something, but she was too tired to argue. The nurse had pressed a little button on the side of her IV stand and her head grew tired. It was between consciousness and total surrender to the drugs in her system that Hana's mind let her see things that probably weren't there. She liked to pretend they were real at least, she didn't get to dream with the drugs in her system. She remembered daydreaming to the same effect while she had been trapped under the rubble, but the trauma of the event clouded by the same haze that clung to her mind now. It was a small comfort.

 _Wind kissing the side of her cheek_...

 _Blankets wrapped warm and tightly around her_...

 _The sun beating down on her as she lay by and garden she hadn't seen before…_

 _Dogs barking by the beach… rough cotton on her arms as she ran after them… her feet digging into the sand_..

 _The crackle of a campfire at night... when her friends.._

 _Were all..._

 _With her …_

…

" _Hana? Are you... still there?"_

Sleep did not take her gently.

 **.**

 **~ X ~**

 **.**

The Haimaru brothers wouldn't leave Hana's bed long after she woke up—and stayed up, this time—no matter how much the nurses protested. They were doused in sanitizing and antibacterial shampoo and given little hospital booties for their paws. They didn't even put up a fuss so long as they could sleep by Hana's feet and keep her company. Kuromaru had visited few times with his partner, but he was too large to stay for long unless he wanted to sleep under the bed. Which he did, actually, several times while Tsume had to take care of clan matters and nurse her pup.

There was no wandering off anymore. In the few short weeks of Hana's recovery, they had stuck by her side and kept watch over her, eyeing up each person who came to visit as if her safety depended on it. To them they still weren't out of the woods yet. Though still small and pudgy, they were her guardians now. Hana had risked her life to keep them alive, and they would not let her sacrifice go to waste. _Not now, not ever._

There was a bump in the night. The Haimaru brothers rose from their positions around their partner's sleeping form, eyeing the medic-nin who shut the door behind him, arms full of medical journals and charts for other patients. He neared the bed, giving Sekimaru a wide berth so the pup couldn't snap at him from under Hana's stretcher, and checked her intravenous drip.

There was a quiet, contemplative look on his face that put the dogs on edge. Hana's breathing was shallow, frail. She smelled like antiseptic and chemicals, and their eyes stayed fixed to the bandages on her forehead as the medic observed her chart. The reek of blood was strong enough to smell even under so many layers of medicine and cotton—they could smell it on the healer too; the whole bunker, even.

"Interesting…" The medic put her chart back in place and rounded the corner of her bed, taking note of the Haimaru brother's bristling when his gloved hands brushed her arm and took hold of the place where the IV drip met her veins.

Misuto got up from his place nestled by Hana's feet and peered into the young man's eyes, silently questioning why his partner would need a nurse's help so late in the night. The medic hardly seemed bothered.

"Doctor's orders," he answered, padding over to a nearby cupboard. He pulled out a fresh needle stored inside and took a small glass vial filled with clear liquid out from a pouch carried on his hip, before filling the needle with whatever medicine was inside and heading back over to Hana's bed. It seemed to smell different than the other liquids the other doctors injected her with.

Misuto looked at his brothers, conflicted on what they should do, before he backed down and let the nurse do his job. This wasn't the first time someone had needed to give her an injection, after all.

"There we go…" The nurse disposed of the empty needle and tucked away the vial back into his pouch. He didn't miss the half second his patient made a pinched, almost pained expression as the effect of whatever medicine he injected kicked in, but soon enough her face went slack once more and the nurse was out the door, turning off the lights again.

They trusted the doctors here to do the right thing and help their master. The only thing they could do was sit and watch over her, waiting for her to wake back up. Their absolute helplessness was not lost on them.

The Haimaru brothers watched the medic shut the door behind him, the glint of light from the hallway illuminating his circular glasses and silver hair.

 **.**

 **~ X ~**

 **.**

The wheezy rattle torn from Hana's throat as she woke up was enough to make a corpse blush. She was groggy, disoriented, and _so not ready for visitors oh my god what were her doctors thinking?_

" _Hana!_ " The first thing she saw was the bright red uchiha fan when the door swung open. She expected Izumi or Shinko to rush towards her bed with such enthusiasm, but before she could open her mouth to say something, she found herself pulled forward into an incredibly constricting hug.

" _Oof!_ " Honestly, the last thing she ever expected to experience was a fretting, incredibly concerned _Itachi,_ actually initiating a _hug_. This was groundbreaking. This was _incredible, this was—_

" _Adorable_." Being his better half, Shisui hadn't been far behind his cousin, but had hung back to watch with an indulgent look on his face as Itachi practically made his own assessment of Hana's injuries. As if he didn't already know what went down just by looking at her. _God, this had been a mistake._

"Okay, okay! I'm fine, really." Itachi was starting to freak her out, actually. When did the kid _ever_ show affection? His eyes were big and wide, taking in her ugly head bandages, and suddenly she started feeling self conscious. She had to fight the urge to pick at them or hide under her blankets to keep the two boys from staring at her. "It's not… really that bad, I swear."

Itachi gave her some space to breathe, but still hung by the side of her bed. He gave her a long, flat stare. "You almost died."

"But I didn't! Everything's okay now!" She said with an energy she knew she didn't have. The Haimaru brothers shuffled under her bed awkwardly, and she pulled the arm with her IV to her chest. In truth, she hadn't had a lot of time to think about her brush with death or what happened. She remembered…a lot of fire. And wind. And the fox.

 _(The building shook with an almighty roar as the beast's tails brushed over the roof, knocking the second story off it's support and shaving the walls down with ease_ —

 _Dirt and drywall flying in every direction, blinding them to the vibrant red inferno of energy_ —

 _"Fuck, fuck!" Hana desperately clung onto the Haimaru Brothers for dear life as more of the building came down around them.)_

"Uum.." Hana roughly swallowed, and forced herself to think of something else to calm her spiking heartbeat. "S..so… How's Izumi? I heard from Mum how you guys got here."

Itachi poorly concealed a wince, and Shisui patted his shoulder, sighing. "She's been better. The clan has been taking care of her though, they expect her to make a full recovery."

"That's good…" Hana said quietly, gently touching the tubes connecting her to the machines nearby. She would have ripped herself free from her IV cord to go visit sooner if it didn't mean potentially bleeding out from the wound left behind. Izumi needed friends more than she did.

( _The wind battered her from all sides and twisted her in every direction, forcing her down until she was tossed outside with an uncaring ferocity. She raised her head a moment later to look for where Fu must've landed, but he was nowhere to be found.)_

"We just came from visiting her," Itachi said, picking up on her unease. "She wasn't awake for long though."

"We didn't actually think your doctors would let us in." Shisui added.

"You and me both," Hana muttered. She caught Itachi looking at the bandages wrapped around her had again and sighed. "Looks pretty bad, right?"

"All of your hair is _gone_ ," he said, a little dumbfounded. Shisui elbowed him in the side and he quickly backpedaled. "Oh, um, I mean—"

"Hey, I heard short is in style now. In a little while, it'll be _fiiiine_ ," the older uchiha smoothly said.

"In the meantime, maybe I should invest in some paper bags to cover up." Hana groaned. "Tell me the truth, how close to hamburger meat does my face look right now?"

"Honestly?" Shisui repeated, cringing. "I mean…"

"Hana," Itachi stepped towards her cot and placed his hand on the side of her bed. "What's important is that you're here with us, _alive_. A change in appearance won't change your worth as a shinobi, or take away from how we feel about you." he paused for a second, his brows scrunching up in contemplation as a certain memory came to him. The sudden change in tact caught Hana incredibly off guard. "Besides, didn't you say before that you thought scars were _cool_?"

He got her there, dammit. Hana's face flushed in embarrassment. "I—I... did I…? I mean.. I guess I did, huh."

This time, he actually did place his hand over hers, in what was supposed to be a comforting gesture, but felt a little awkward coming from Itachi. His hand was clammy and calloused, and she could tell that he was trying extra hard to mask his concern in favor of projecting confidence instead. "Then you're gonna be okay."

The way he said it with such conviction made her bite back whatever half assed retort she was going to say, and instead, she let her gaze drop to the floor and pulled her knees up to her chest. With her free hand, she gently patted the cotton gauze covering the stitches on her scalp, and muttered under her breath, "In that case, I'm gonna be the coolest idiot to get stepped on by a bijuu _ever_. The Kyūbi's got nothin' on me."

 _(She raised her head a moment later to look for where Fu must've landed, but he was nowhere to be found.)_

"That's the spirit!" Shisui said brightly, slapping Itachi on the back, since he couldn't do the same to Hana on her hospital bed. The younger Uchiha winced, and quickly withdrew his hand in favor of rubbing the sore spot his cousin left on his shoulder blade.

Itachi sighed and backed away from her bed. "I'm glad to see that you're doing better at least, Hana."

"You—you said the thing!" When itachi blinked at her, she broke out in a goofy lopsided grin. It felt strange to smile after weeks of being stuck in a bed. "You called me Hana! That's wonderful!"

"I—Is it?" He quickly looked at shisui, who only shrugged and left him on his own. Channeling blinding optimism and being tactful hadn't made hana feel any better before, but simply forgetting to use honorifics somehow made her smile? He didn't seem get it. "Shisui, can you explain—?"

"I'll tell you when you're older," he shrugged. Itachi made a disbelieving sound.

Hana snickered at them— _it felt so good to laugh again_. "Hey guys, I'm glad you came by and visited. It's been pretty lonely here in the hospital, and to be honest, it's been starting to feel like i've been living in a bubble all this time."

She shook her head,somehow seeing Itachi concerned, trying his best to make her feel better just made her want to burst into tears. She was suddenly overcome with stupid gushy feelings about friendship and love and dammit she was just going to blame this on her painkillers.

"I… I know I'm the one initiating it but I'm in this cot right now, and… if you could just lean forward so i can properly hug you back, I'd really appreciate it because in all honestly—" She pulled Itachi into a lopsided hug, which she was shocked and relieved he actually returned. He smelt like woodsmoke and kunai steel, a welcome change compared to her hospital room. "—I really would have _missed you if I ended up dying_."

When their hug ended, Itachi drew back and awkwardly scratched the back of his head, looking everywhere but her face as he fought the tiny indulgent smile on his face. _Adorable_. "Well, um. I'm glad that you didn't, still. I'm not going anywhere."

Shisui was hiding a smile behind his hand, but he perked up a second later when Hana pressured him into an awkward hug as well. He was careful not to bump any of the wires hooked up to her arm, and made an indignant squawk when she ruffled his hair.

"Metaphorically, though. We do actually have to get going," Shisui explained, elbowing Itachi in the side. "Sorry to cut the cuteness to a close, but Fugaku-sama wanted you back at the bunker before for and we still need to pick up that formula mix for your brother, so— "

"We'll come back soon," Itachi said quickly, giving hana a quick farewell. He nodded his head towards the Haimaru brothers and gave them one last wave before disappearing out the door, waiting for his cousin to follow after. She didn't miss the fact that he now had a fresh, clean forehead protector wrapped around his neck as he left, and made a mental note to ask someone if their class had somehow graduated while she had been out. Surely, someone would have told her, right? Stuff like that was important.

Shisui lingered in the room a few more moments, humming thoughtfully to himself. "I'm really glad you two became friends. I'm almost jealous." He smiled at her, sliding both of his hands into his pockets as he leaned on the doorframe. "I know we haven't known one another for long, but.. You're a good person, Hana-san. You didn't deserve this to happen to you, but at the very least, I'm glad you're doing better now. Itachi has been making me nervous with all the worrying he's been doing, his scowling looks just like his old man's, it's freaky."

Hana snorted, trying not to picture the image Shisui put in her head and failing. "Well, I'm happy I could help, I—"

 _("Hana!"_

 _There—! His orange hair was swallowed up by the light of the Nine-Tailed Fox, and she reached out to grab him once he cleared the remains of the building, but he was taking so long, and couldn't maneuver right with that bad shoulder of his, and—)_

She winced, a pinching in the back of her head hitting her with full force as the memory faded from view. She thought she could still feel the ash and smoke in the air, but when she looked back up, expecting to see ginger hair and yellow eyes, all she saw was Shisui's concerned expression.

"Are you okay…?"

"Uh… yeah.." Hana pursed her lips. She could tell from the nearby machine that her heartbeat had picked back up again. "Though, one thing's still bothering me," she confessed, her hands crumpled up in the folds of her hospital blankets. The lightheartedness from their visit somehow draining from the room. "You guys have been visiting everyone else… um, who got caught up in the attack, right? C— _c_ an you tell me how Fu's been doing?"

She looked back up and her breath caught in her throat from the expression on his face. Pale, shocked, confused. A heartbeat passed and she could see him fight with the shinobi training kicking in, forcing him to stay neutral in a situation where facial expression could let information slip. _But why would he need to do that when all she asked was—?_

 _(The Kyuubi's tails lashed out behind him, striking the building and sending bricks falling everywhere, in every direction. The last thing she saw was orange hair and falling bricks before she too was swallowed up by falling debris.)_

"Please," she said, her voice strangely calm despite the ugly twisting her stomach was doing. "Tell me the truth."

He closed the door behind him before gently coming to sit by her bed. "I thought you already knew."

"Shisui."

"Hana… I'm sorry."

" _Shisui—_ "

"He didn't make it."

 **.**


	29. Chapter 29 - The Point Of No Return

**AN:** Lol don't hate me for this. This chapter is kinda born from my own feelings, since someone close to me also just died a little while ago. I actually started writing this chapter the day it happened. Also, let it be said that this first bit is not like, Hana talking to Shisui lol.

 **Word count:** **7,272**

 **.**

 **~ X ~**

 **.**

 **Chapter 29 - The Point Of No Return**

 **.**

 **~ X ~**

 **.**

 _He didn't make it._

 _He didn't make it._

Didn't make… what—?

He was dead. He was gone. There was never going to be a moment again when Fu was alive, no new memories to be made, no nothing—no making of anything anymore.

' _I'm sorry for your loss.'_

Sorry for your _loss_ …? Are you really? If you cared then maybe you'd saying something different. You'd say something and actually mean it. Something that hasn't been said a million times were filler words, useless the more someone said them over and over again. Like, come on. You'd think a human life would be worth coming up with something a little more profound _._

' _This must be a really tough time for you, I'm sorry.'_

You're sorry? Sure, okay, you're forgiven. Its cool. How do you even answer that? Thank you? Thanks for saying that, or something. Thanks for using up your limited time on this earth to dignify a response. That was nice of you, thanks _._

Okay maybe that was a little more hostile than was needed. The world isn't always rainbows and puppies, things weren't always great, life can't always exist with some sort of happy ending. It wasn't like they could have stayed _best friends_ forever. Hana knew she couldn't save all of them. Things would have caught up—maybe this was it, _maybe_ —

 _(—The sky lit itself on fire, and chakra rained down upon them, scorching the rooftops, while civilians screamed—)_

 _(—She gently peeled back the sopping wet cloth around Fu's shoulder, and winced as she saw bone and muscle moving in the gash on his shoulder. It's bad, right? he had asked—)_

 _(—The last thing she saw was orange hair and falling bricks before she too was swallowed up by falling debris—)_

Life wasn't meant to last. That was just how things were.

No matter how _bullshit she thought it was_.

She couldn't save them all.

 _(it was her fault he was dead)_

"—And I'm so s-sick and tired of everyone saying that they're sorry for me, sorry for my loss, as if that'd make anything better. I'm sorry too! I'm fucking s-sorry I'm such a big, stupid idiot and got my d-dad killed, thanks for your kind words! please never bring it up again."

Izumi choked, kicking Hana's bed with her foot, making her little wheelchair rattle. The brakes were on so she didn't end up going anywhere.

"You know what the worst thing is? These eyes are _useless_. I bet you a million bucks tomorrow my clan _annexes me_ because I'm the most useless Uchiha they've ever seen. They don't even care h-he's dead, it's like all I-I am to them is a failed experiment and all I see is d-disappointment in their eyes."

"Hey, if you're lucky, some might be looking at you with pity," Hana muttered, hardly over her own issues herself.

Izumi scoffed, sinking lower into her chair. Her housecoat was hiked up around her legs, and she continuously bounced her knee up and down, hands clenching and unclenching in her lap.

"Yeah, right, I should be so thankful. Hey, maybe if I'm lucky they'll all just forget I exist and I turn into a ghost. At least then I wouldn't have to watch everyone be so _unsatisfied_ with my _improvement_." she sounded like she was quoting someone. "Dusty old _jerks_."

"I'm glad you're here at least, Izumi," Hana sighed, looking at her. She heard the other girl mutter something under her breath.

"Yeah… that's one of us at least." There was a long pause, before she whispered; "I bet Itachi wouldn't have this problem."

Hana frowned at her. "This doesn't involve Itachi. This is about you."

Izumi continued as if she didn't hear her, avoiding eye contact. "If Itachi awakened his Sharingan, he'd immediately be able to activate it. He wouldn't be some pathetic sickly idiot. I bet the clan would be proud of him—even if he didn't know how to use it yet."

"Izumi," Hana warned. "You can't compare yourself to someone else like that."

"It's true though," She defended, finally looking at her. "They've never given me the time of day before now; it's just like some sort of joke. I don't even _want_ the sharingan—honestly. I'd trade it all back if it meant… If it meant…" Her voice broke and she choked on the last words. " _Goddamnit_."

This wasn't the first time it had happened. Hana was pretty sure it wasn't going to be the last either. She was so exhausted by everything, she didn't even know if it was worth trying to comfort her again or if it would hurt Izumi's pride. "You can cry, it's okay."

"No it's not!" Izumi was rubbing furiously at her eyes, flickering red and black in a faulty attempt at her clan's bloodline. She still couldn't control it without getting dizzy—hence, the chair. "Shinobi aren't supposed to cry, that's one of the rules! I can't even get that right, how am I supposed to be a Kunoichi like this? God, I'm so _stupid._ "

Hana didn't say anything. Or maybe she just didn't know the right thing to say, so she just let them sit in silence until Izumi calmed down. There wasn't a magic cure-all for what was going on, no silver lining to what happened. Sure, Izumi developed the Sharingan, but the chakra drain her eyes were giving her, the chances of her being a functional shinobi with them were close to zero. As it turned out, trauma didn't always make you a stronger person after all. _Shocking_ , but Hana doubted the Uchiha were ever going to change their ways.

Izumi wiped her cheek with the palm of her hand. "I know I'm not the only one with stuff going on. I know you're tired too. I'm sorry, I—" She stopped herself, a grimace on her face replacing the frustrated tears from just a second ago. "Hana, this sucks."

"Yeah." Hana sat up in her cot, resting both elbows on her knees as she looked down at her friend. _God, her head ached_. She wondered if those stitches on her skull were even doing anything. "This sucks."

Izumi kept bouncing her leg up and down. She looked like she wanted to get up and run somewhere. Anywhere. She looked like a tiny, caged animal. "I don't know how long I can keep this up anymore."

"Have you tried sleeping it off?" Hana said sarcastically. Izumi kicked her cot again.

"I'm serious." The Uchiha picked at the bandages loosely hanging around her neck. Technically, she was supposed to be wearing them around her eyes to help them heal, but none of her clansmen took that seriously. They wanted results sooner, rather than later. "I can't stay like this much longer—this bunker is too much. I'm going stir crazy."

She was probably telling the truth. Since Izumi got her chair, she'd been visiting Hana down the hall as much as her doctors would allow. Probably more than they were comfortable with, actually. Then again, it wasn't like they had enough time to run after her. They could probably use the empty bed more than she did.

(' _Are you in pain?' her neighbour asked, even though the Yamanaka hardly sounded concerned. 'If you end up dying, try not to bump the table too much. Some of us are actually trying to do homework.'_ )

( ' _I like you.' She nodded, looking at the Yamanaka in a new light. 'You're a devious little weasel. I admire that.'_ )

Hana sighed, gently massaging her forehead, her palm rubbed up against the white cotton bandages there. Not for the first time, she wondered how bad she looked. She probably had that sickly skin and sunken eye look, right? _ugh_. She wished she could shower, the filth was making her noseblind.

(' _You're so arrogant and pigheaded! You think cutting ties with other people will let you climb the ladder quicker?' she huffed, taking a second to catch her breath. 'Danzo is going to chew you up and spit you out like you're nothing- and you are in his eyes!'_ )

 _("You have no idea what you're talking about!"_ )

Maybe a change in location would do them both didnt want to stay in one spot anymore herself. And… there was something she really needed to do.

No more talking about feelings anymore. No more talking or sleeping or crying anymore. No more being a kid about it. It was time Hana grew the hell up.

Even if the guilt was eating her up inside, even if it was keeping her awake at night, she had to remind herself of the fact that she couldn't save everyone.

She couldn't.

And she had tried. So _, so hard_ —

 _(Oh damn it Fū, why did you have to prove her right?)_

"Hey, Izumi."

The girl jumped in surprise when Hana started getting out of her bed, Izumi's hands flying out to stop her last second. "What are you doing? Hey, hey wait—Hana, I didn't think you're allowed to stand...?"

She sweetly smiled, flashing the Uchiha her slightly mismatched teeth. "Can I borrow your chair?"

Izumi watched her cautiously. "Where do you want to go?"

"The morgue."

Her legs felt numb standing on their own, and she took two steps before the IV tube in her arm started tugging. She would have to bring that along with her if they went anywhere, but they'd figure something out.

"You're right—I can't just sit around not doing anything, and neither should you." She took a steadying breath and smoothed out some of the wrinkles in her hospital gown. "You don't have to come if you don't want to, give me some time when the doctors come looking for me, or help me leave, but I have to go see. Call me crazy, but I just—I just can't accept it without seeing it with my own eyes."

Izumi was quiet for a moment. For a second, Hana almost thought she was going to fight her on this—maybe even call her crazy after all.

But for the first time in a while, a little life returned to Izumi's eyes.

She got out of her chair. "I'm with you."

 **.**

 **~ X ~**

 **.**

Kabuto wasn't the kind of person to ever get caught off guard. He was used to playing the role of the invisible spy, blending into the shadows, going weeks without being recognized and hardly talking to anyone unless it fit his mission. He was a ghost in more ways than one.

The village hidden in the leaves—what remained—was unaware of his particular… relationship with one of their more famous missing-nin. He preferred it that way. It part of the game; one played with the full scope of the board, and any surprises could mean the difference between another day alive, and the next, as a cold body buried in an undisclosed location. Sometimes, there wasn't even anything left. That was the difference a lone variable made.

" _YOU!_ "

...but when a tiny girl in a wheelchair comes barrelling down a hallway, pointing and shouting, all sense of secrecy and subterfuge went out the goddamn window.

Robotically turning, Kabuto hastily regained his composure, mind flying through a million plans and backup plans in case he had finally been found out. He had been so careful, _surely this couldn't be—_

"You're a pain to track down, you know that?" A dog seated in the lap of Hana Inuzuka barked, his nose intently sniffing the air in front of him. Behind her, the Uchiha pushing her chair stared at him blankly, waiting for her friend to say something.

If he had to thank a _dog_ for his undoing, he hoped the gods had a sense of humor.

Feigning nonchalance, Kabuto leaned back in his chair, wiping his forehead with the back of his gloved hand. He was done tending to the patient in front of him anyway. If it came down to it, he could use the man as a diversion. "You tracked me down, huh? To what do I owe the pleasure?"

The Inuzuka's face twitched, and for a moment—the briefest second, before she got it under control—there was the unmistakable hint of killing intent.

Interesting.

"Right to the point then," Hana's breath came in steadied, controlled gasps. Keeping her composure restrained. Her chakra was steady, an iron grip on it. Kabuto could tell she wanted to jump out of that wheelchair by her clenched fists and tensed muscles. She stared him dead in the eyes, taking a sharp inhale through her nose. "I want you to show me Fu's body."

The other girl was just as intent as her friend. "Now," the Uchiha added.

Kabuto paused for a moment, a steady silence weighing out between the three of them (and the dog) before his patient hastily excused himself.

There went his exit strategy. _Damn_.

"Ah…" Kabuto pushed up his glasses with the inside of his wrist, shooting the two girls a polite smile. "May I ask why?"

"Oh you know why, you prick," Izumi said heatedly. "You have the clearance for it, just do it already."

The Uchiha fell silent as Hana cleared her throat. The same polite smile found its way onto her face as well, mirroring him. Only, hers had too-sharp teeth. "What we mean is, it's a personal matter. We tried getting in before but they turned us away. You're our best bet at…"

"Saying goodbye?" Kabuto peeled off his gloves and threw them in a nearby trash can. He was ready to body swap with them at a moment's notice. "Are you a relative or close friend of the family? I find it hard to believe they'd turn you away unless you didn't have consent to view the deceased party—"

"So that's what he is? You're not even going to say his name?!" Izumi took a step forward, hands twitching as if she wanted to throttle him. By the look on her face, she seemed moments away from doing so, until her friend reached out and caught her sleeve. "I thought you two had history."

The look in Hana's eyes was cold. Empty. Something about it seemed far too old for her young face.

Kabuto recognized himself in that gaze.

 _(Was it the Kyūbi attack and her friend's death that had caused that? Or was it something deeper—)_

Hana passed her dog off into Izumi's arms to keep her occupied, and she rolled her chair forward an inch. "I don't care what sort of relationship you had with Fu Yamanaka. I don't care what he was up to, I'm not interested in his business or giving his grandmother any more grief. I just—"

She took a steadying breath, those dark eyes of hers finally breaking eye contact with his, lowering to her lap in front of her. Her hands unclenched, laying flat on her wrinkly old hospital gown.

"I just want closure." She looked back up at him, and he could see the cogs turning in the back of her head. "If please and thank-you's won't cut it, we could strike a deal. Did you know I'm the daughter of the Inuzuka clan head?"

That, he didn't.

She was offering him _power._

He didn't know how to feel about her reading him and his motivations so well.

' _The daughter of a clan head, huh?'_

That was an opportunity if he ever saw one. And she was opening herself up, all for… what?

Kabuto would have to pull some strings. A lot of strings. Did Hana Inuzuka actually know what she was suggesting? Fu _had_ said she was strikingly easy to blackmail.

Interesting. Oh, he could use this.

"A deal, huh…?" Kabuto turned in his chair, giving her his full attention. "What do you propose?"

 **.**

 **~ X ~**

 **.**

There was a hush in the room as Minato rose from his chair, exhaustion heavy on his shoulders as it no doubt showed on his face. A lifetime had come and gone in the time since his warning of the Kyūbi attack, and they were no closer in leads or explanations. No trace of the masked man's whereabouts. Minato had become a father in one movement, and what felt like a widow in another.

 _(He would find her, Minato had sworn, he would exhaust every opportunity, he would chase that man to the ends of the earth if he had to, he would run himself to death if needed—)_

The village was rebuilding, trying to pull itself to its feet. Enough time had passed for the people to shake away the shock and finally see clearly what remained. Konoha wanted to pick up the pieces. Having been given enough time...

But the one thing that really rubbed Minato wrong—

The fact that Jiraiya had been given time— _more_ than enough. More than anyone in the village, more than _even the third—_

And he had squandered it.

 _He hadn't even spared the time to give a reply._

So now, seeing the two Sannin stand before him—

(Tsunade had taken the news of his death hard, she had stood on two uneasy legs as she stumbled her way into his office, a bottle dropped from one had, onto the floor on the way there, a flask pulled out of her robes in another. She sat on his couch, holding one of his pillows to his chest like a little girl, refusing to talk to anyone.)

Minato burnt with the question of ' _what if'_.

What if his teacher had come back in time.

What if he had helped them with a plan.

What if he had stayed with Kushina as Minato was forced to pursue their attacker.

What if he had been there and helped seal the nine tails.

What if Hiruzen didn't have to die.

"Why didn't you just… _answer me_?" He said finally, and the words came out choked and brittle. A million other things building up in his throat like shards of glass. He refused to break down in front of this man, his _teacher_ ; to show any more anger or frustration than he deserved. "Why didn't you…? you know what? No. I don't want to hear it. I just—" he ran a hand through his hair, sitting back down with a quick, sharp motion. "Just—Just give me something. A moment."

Tsunade audibly swallowed a mouthful of liquor and held her arm out, offering him a sip across the expanse of the room.

"I'm a father," he said, declining. She shrugged and took another swig.

"I guess… congratulations are in order, right?" Jiraiya tentatively asked, one hand awkwardly rubbing the back of his neck.

Minato's eyes zeroed in on the trail of hickey's and kiss marks on his sensei's throat, the bags under his eyes, the unmistakable tell of a man in the middle of an awful hangover, and _he tased bile._

Of course. _Of course_ this was how he spent his time. It was _Sensei_ , after all. Why did he think the man had any sense of tact or respect _or even just common decency_ —

Minato held his teacher's gaze, unblinkingly, and said, "Kushina is _gone_."

"Ah… I—ugh, heard." Silence followed. Jiraiya's wooden sandals scuffed the floor as he stood before his student. "I'm sorry for your loss."

"...seriously?" Tsunade kicked one of her shoes off on the couch and tossed it at him. He moved out of the way in time, and her aim was something to be desired, being smashed and all. "That's all you have to say for yourself?"

"What am I _supposed to say?_ " He hissed back, shrinking under the chilling gaze of the Yondaime. "It wasn't like I was there when it happened!"

"No, you weren't." Minato intoned. "Not even when I told you when any of this was going to happen..."

"And I can't tell you how sorry I am, kid—"

"Not even when I said my life was in danger. Kushina's life. _The village_ —"

"Look, just—"

" _Naruto_." Minato's gaze was white hot, cutting into the Sannin before him. "That's his name, you know. Your _godson_."

Jiraiya looked like he had been struck across the face. "I—I didn't know…"

"You would have, I you actually took the time to _read any of my summons_ ," he shot back. And now there was a heat to his words, rising in intensity as he rose from his chair. "But I guess spending your time in the land of hot springs with pretty girls is more important, right? I'll save you the time answering, that was a rhetorical question."

Now, it was getting ugly. Jiraiya's face twisted into a scowl to match his student's. "You don't know what you're talking about."

"Kumo. The recent breaches in our boarders. Their increase in activity since the war. I know all about it."

"...okay, maybe you do know," he admitted. "Then you should be aware of the fact that my positioning in Yugakure has been keeping our nations from going at each other's throats again—from sparking another war. I was doing my _job,_ kid. It was out of my hands."

"I am your _Hokage_ ," Minato reminded. "When I said I wanted you back in the village, I said _I wanted you back in the village_. It wasn't a simple request from your _little genin graduate_."

Tsunade cleared her throat, her flask dribbling onto the carpet. "I'm not much of a checkers girl, but when the king is in check, I'm pretty sure the pawn's not supposed to be out getting laid."

"That's a horrible analogy." Jiraiya glared at her. "You're blaming me too? I was keeping the peace!"

"Yeah, you were keepin' something alright," she muttered, wiping her mouth with the back of her hand. She rose to her feet and stalked over to him, her one heeled foot clicking behind her. "Just know that while this village mourns a hero, the man that raised you up from nothing died in the arms of his closest friend, and you were nowhere to be seen. At least I didn't have the luxury of knowing something would happen _six goddamn months ahead of time_. "

She sniffled, wiping her nose on the sleeve of her robe. Her composure started to crumble, and it looked like Jiraiya was about to make a move and comfort her, before she roughly slapped his hand away and strode towards the door. Her other shoe forgotten by Minato's desk.

"I'm done with this. Bullshit mourning. Losing people over and over again. Fucking awful no-good men in my life. _You_ —" She turned and jabbed a finger in Minato's direction. "Call me if you need me or anything medical-ey. I could probably help. Dunno. I'll be in the wine cellar having a nap on the floor, but at least I'll be _around_." She turned and pulled the door open with a vengeance, the wood groaning under the force of her grip on the doorknob as she slammed it behind her.

It fell off its hinges onto the floor as she hobbled away, barefooted with her one good heel in her hands; her flask in the other.

It seemed like ages before Jiraiya tore his eyes away from her departure and returned Minato's expectant gaze.

"I was keeping the _peace, kid_ ," he said again, almost pleading. "You can't fault me for that."

"No, I can't." Minato pursed his lips and shook his head, just… disappointed. He had expected so much more. Tsunade had pretty much just repeated everything that Minato had wanted to say and taken the wind out of his sails.

Jiraiya had been his hero growing up. His _teacher._

But he had known for some time now that the man had his faults. He was capable of mistakes.

Minato had just hoped that he was an exception.

He knew better now.

"Go keep the peace then, if that's what you want."

Minato rounded the corner of his desk to bend down and pick up Tsunade's shoe. He placed it on a stack of academy folders, work he was supposed to be shipping away at before the Sannin stopped by. He still had to assign eighty early graduates to teams and figure out who was alive still to teach them. They were really scraping the bottom of the barrel.

"I don't have the time or energy to give you the argument you deserve—I'm tired, Jiraiya. I didn't want this to happen, I wanted you _here_."

His response was weak, but he took a step forward. Minato could tell that he was deeply remorseful. "I'm here now."

Minato didn't _care._

"Just… go… do your job. Help the village."

 _Since apparently, Minato couldn't ask him to help himself..._

He ran a hand through his hair again, exhaustion pulling down on Minato with each passing moment. He wanted to be alone. He wanted to be with his son. He wanted to be with Kushina, like _before_.

When he could forget responsibility and titles and his job and he could just bask in _the glow of her smile_ —

Jiraiya could tell when he wasn't wanted. He stepped over the broken remains of the door, his head just ducking under the frame with his towering height. He may have had a good foot and a half over his student, but the Sannin looked more the penitent child than ever had in the years that Minato had known him. It didn't make him any less _done_ with him.

"If there's anything I can do—"

"Just go."

"Right…"

Thankfully, for once, Jiraiya actually listened to him.

(Minato was too tired and bitter to count that as a victory.)

 **.**

 **~ X ~**

 **.**

"H—Haruto, what are you doing here?"

"I could see you nearby." The Hyūga turned off his Byakugan, facing the two girls head on. His left arm was wrapped in a sling, a little pink cast protecting his broken forearm. His gaze darted from their faces, to the double doors to their left. The morgue. He had cut them off before they had gotten inside. "He's… in there, isn't he? His b—body, I mean..."

"Yes." Kabuto glided past him, a little silver keycard fished out from his pocket as he slid it through a scanner, allowing them access. "We have ten minutes before the next shift starts and someone will come by. I need five of those to get ready while you wait outside."

"Five minutes?" Izumi ground her teeth together. "What are you even doing that's so important?"

Hana and Kabuto shared a heavy look before the medic finally broke it and shot Izumi a placating smile. "He wasn't exactly in the condition to… have visitors."

"You're saying we wouldn't want to see him the way he is," Hana explained, her words drawn out and spoken clearly like she was an adult speaking down to a group of children.

"Even if you kept the sheet up to his chin…?" Izumi paled, her bravado quickly failing.

"Do what you need to do." Hana crossed her arms over her chest and gestured for Kabuto to open the door.

"Hana-san, are you sure…?" Haruto tentatively put his hand on Hana's shoulder, before thinking better of it and withdrawing. "I know my history with h—him… isn't as extensive… I only knew him for a little while… are you sure you want just five minutes? I can wait outside if you'd prefer..."

Hana turned to him then and—she knew he deserved to say goodbye himself, but god, was he serious?

"Haruto really liked him…" Izumi murmured under her breath, staring at the ground. "Shinko and I were trying to help the two of them... back before the village was attacked."

"I—It was just a crush, you guys were his friends..." Haruto sniffled and put on a brave face for the two girls. "If I'm intruding, you can say so..."

For the first time in a while, Hana's composure faltered. Haruto was just a kid, he shouldn't have to make an offer like that. And the fact that he had _feelings for him...?_ It wasn't fair. None of it was. Haruto was eleven—god, Izumi was nine years old. None of them deserved to go through any of this right now. It wasn't what normal kids deserved.

Fu was just twelve years old.

and now—

Hana still couldn't believe it. Didn't want to. But she had a single wall separating her from the truth, and so what if seeing it meant scarring herself for life or something, Hana was a firm believer in _'they're not dead unless you see the body_ '.

She wanted so so badly to believe things could be okay. She didn't want to give up on him. She hadn't even when they were fighting back in that alleyway—

( _Remember that you can't save them all_.)

"Alright, the three of you have five minutes," Kabuto held one of the double doors open with a gloved hand, waiting for the three of them to make a move. "Don't waste your time standing around."

"H-Hana-san what are you doing?" Haruto hovers nervously behind her as Hana got up from her wheelchair, unsure what to do next. "Are you going to be alright?"

"It's just for a little while, I'll be fine." She smiled at him and unhooked her IV drip from the chair, thankful that they at least brought the stand along with them so she could lean on it. With an awkward shuffle, she motioned for the two kids to start moving.

It was cold in the morgue. That was expected. Hana had little scrubs on her feet , but the floor was cold beneath her toes as she padded forward. Izumi and Haruto lingered behind her, unsure of how to proceed. There was a tentative silence amongst the four of them, broken only by the soft whuff of one of the Haimaru brothers tagging along. Izumi held the ninken in her arms, burying her face in Sekimaru's fur as Kabuto brought them to a line of drawers.

The room stunk of formaldehyde and embalming fluid, and there was a desk in the corner piled high with black scrolls with the kanji for 'death'. There must have been hundreds of them—just the ones she could see. What couldn't be kept in one the vaults for observation was filed away... and for what? Hana couldn't fathom how many bodies there were. How many were still out there, yet to be discovered.

It was all so senseless...

How many of them could have been spared if the Kyuubi attack happened when it was supposed to?

How many other people would be dead?

How much of this... was her fault...?

( _You can't save all of them._ )

One of the vaults had been opened, a stainless steel rack pulled out for examination. A small, white body bag was zipped up around what lay inside, but even just seeing it there—knowing...

Haruto and Izumi froze behind her.

"I—Izumi-san... I d—don't know if I can do this." They Hyuuga's breaths came quick and jagged, and from the pale pallor of his skin he looked like he was about to have a panic attack.

Izumi's arm tightened around the puppy in her arms, and she squeezed her eyes shut and blindly reached down to clasp Haruto's hand. "It's okay. I—I know what you mean."

"You don't have to come closer if you don't want to." Hana pulled her IV closer, her eyes focused solely on that white bag. "Don't force yourself."

"Four minutes," Kabuto reminded, rounding the side of the gurney. His gloved hand lingered over the zipper, and he looked sharply up at her, almost trying to gauge just how dedicated Hana was in seeing this through. His attention turned to the other kids, before landing back on that zipper. "Just a head's up, I placed a genjutsu on the body to make him look... healthier. Open casket services aren't really that common, I did the best I could with what I was given."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Izumi weakly said, the barest flicker of annoyance coloring her voice. She still had her eyes closed.

Hana scanned Kabuto's face, but she couldn't read him. Was it even worth trusting him for this if he could just place a Genjutsu down? would it even be Fu there? There was no body tag. No identification on the bag. It could have been anyone in there.

Did she gain anything from this meetup? Hana wanted to know the truth, but if getting closure meant being naive enough to believe Kabuto...

Even if it was something everyone already knew about—

Even if everyone around her said it was the truth—

Even if she had seen enough herself, had lain awake for three days in the scorching sun, bleeding out of a gash in her head—

If everything was leading up to the point to say _yes, yes he was dead_. _The first friend you ever made was laying on that table in front of her_ —

She didn't want to believe it. Because she still wanted to believe the world wasn't like this. She wanted to believe in _him._

Just like she wanted to believe, so deeply, that she could make things better. She could change the future. She could make things right before they happened.

And here she was. Standing beside the boy who would lead the world to the next shinobi war— _trusting in him_. Waiting for the moment he would pull the wool over her eyes and show her the corpse of her dead friend.

 _Remember that you—_

('Arguing isn't going to get us anywhere, I'm sorry your idea didn't pan out, but so long as we have some time left we should use it while we still can.')

(BO—OM!)

('I like you.' She nodded, looking at the Yamanaka in a new light.)

(She raised her head a moment later to look for where Fu must've landed, but he was nowhere to be found.)

 _You can't save—_

('You're right , I'm a demon from another another world, I've actually been waiting for someone to ask me about it. Fu Yamanaka, you're my only hope!')

(Hana peeled back the wet cloth around Fu's shoulder, wincing as she saw bone and muscle moving in the gash on his shoulder. He couldn't look at her. 'It's bad, right?')

('I'm sorry,' she said, trembling.)

('I'm sorry too')

— _can't save them all._

She—

just wanted...

 _To change things._

...And this was the result.

"You're running out of time. Do you want me to open this or not?"

Her voice failing her, Hana nodded. Her little hand reaching out to weakly grasp the table.

There was a sharp gasp behind her hen Izumi opened her eyes, and Hana belatedly realized that both of her friends came from clans who specialized in seeing through genjutsu.

So really, it was only her who saw the paper white face of her friend in front of her.

He looked like he was pretending to be asleep. She fought the urge to shake him, to force him to stop fooling around and open his eyes.

"I—I can't, I'm sorry." Haruto stumbled back, dropping Izumi's hand as his back made contact with the door. His face trembled, and he hastily swiped under his eyes with his one good hand. "I... I just—oh god."

Izumi finally broke her gaze away from the body. "I know. _I know_ —"

"Do you want me to see them out?" Kabuto asked Hana. She nodded, and he turned towards the two. "I put the genjutsu there for a reason. What did I say...?"

"Hana your new friend is an _asshole_ ," Izumi sniffled, letting herself be shepherded out the room. Haruto held the door open for her as Kabuto all but shoved the two kids out of his domain.

"He's not my..." she fell silent as the door swung behind them, left alone in the morgue with... nothing but a body bag, and a couple hundred thousand corpse scrolls. "...friend."

She looked back down at Fu. His white, chalky face—orange hair gently pulled from its usual ponytail, tucked underneath his head. The bag was only unzipped a little past his chin, his neck and shoulders bare and featureless. He didn't have a scratch on him.

Hana took an unsteady breath, a knot forming in her throat. "He was yours."

She waited.

"So was I..."

She didn't know why she was expecting a response.

She figured she should say something more. Something profound. Something to give herself closure. But really...

R—Really she just...

She knew nothing she could say could _change_ things.

That was the price of being older. Words meant nothing. She had thought her actions would fix things—thought being brave and being the master of her own destiny would mean everyone got out alright. What was a couple risks? What harm could a—a letter do?

It hadn't been her job to do something. This was her fault.

Twelve years old.

 _Gone._

If the scrolls lining the walls had eyes, Hana would feel them burning her, watching her every move.

 _You did this, you did this, you did this—_

 _You can't undo it._

( _You couldn't save them_ )

Hana reached out and gently placed her palm on Fu's face, just brushing his temple. She could feel where the Genjutsu began and where the real Fu was underneath. Her palm came back sticky, just the barest trace of old blood clinging to her fingers.

( _You couldn't save him_.)

Where was that vigor she had back when she made that latter? Where was those guts, that daring? Where did that kid _get off_ , thinking she could change the world, make it a better place. Who was she to play _god?_

 _(Remember—)_

Okay, okay! She got the message! She couldn't do shit! she didn't need any more reminders. Hana had a _pretty profound one_ sitting right in front of her. She probably wouldn't forget about this for the rest of her _unnatural, goddamn_ _life_.

This was the hand that was dealt to her. This was _it._

"What... am going to do now?"

No response. of course. She was talking to a dead body. That wasn't even Fu anymore. Probably hadn't been for a while.

Had he been alive for those three days she spent trapped underneath the rubble?

Had he _suffered?_

"Does it matter now...?" Hana withdrew her hand and let it fall limply to her side. She could hear Kabuto by the door, lingering. Her time was up.

"I'm sorry," she choked out, finally. _Finally_. Like she had been leading up to it. She just didn't know what else to say. "This was my fault. You should never have met me."

No response.

"None of them should have—" she cut herself off, too angry at herself to speak words right.

It was just her and the tick tick ticking of the clock above them, counting down her time left. There was no point in any of this. No point in coming to see what she already knew the moment that building came down. Maybe Hana knew this was going to happen the moment she found out he was in Root. Really, she should have seen it coming. It was her own fault she didn't.

Again.

It was her fault.

There was no way of fixing it.

( _She couldn't save them all_ )

"But dammit," Hana quietly cursed, wishing so desperately that stupid bodybag was unzipped a little more so she could at least hold his hand. "I wanted to fix things."

Madara was still a problem. Obito was still out there. In a couple years, Danzo would force Itachi to kill his parents and his clan. Did she really believed she could change things for the better? Was she really that brazen?

She'd be a fool to try anything else. Minato was alive. She had changed things enough. She could just sit back comfortably and let things play out from there on.

But...

Kabuto had warned her about keeping quiet. he had threatened her, said she'd lose the things she had close. She knew the weight of that kind of accusation now. She had already done something, she couldn't take it back.

Everything she knew could be forfeit now. Obito and the rest wouldn't stop until the eye of the moon plan was complete.

There was no going back even if she tried.

"I might not be able to save them all..."

She gently pulled the zipper back up on the body bag, almost like tucking her friend into bed. He looked peaceful. She forced herself into composure, swiping under her eyes before finally zipping the bag closed. A final goodbye was whispered.

"But I have to _try_."

 **.**

 **~ X ~**

 **.**

There was a call for academy students to graduate early while the village pulled itself together. Itachi and the rest of their class—the ones who were well enough—had received their headbands and assignments. They had their teams. Hana remembered a time when they were all excited about the idea of who would end up what.

Itachi was on a team with Shinko and Tenma, working on running packages and water to workers out in the ruins.

Izumi was supposed to have gone on a team with Eji and Umino-san, but... the latter hadn't made it through the attack; and Izumi had barely been able to stand, then.

Hana and Haruto were supposed to be on a team together. Their missing member an unspoken reminder of what had been lost.

Now, though. Now, Izumi was with them, a crutch beneath her arm. Weeks later after the rest of their class had been promoted. Nomura-sensei held a report from the Hokage, an unreadable expression on her face.

"It wasn't supposed to go like this."

"We know."

Hana had her tan leather jacket back on, her bandages off. Her mother had gotten her a little woolen hat to cover up the patchy hair growing in place. She didn't need an IV or injections to get better anymore. She could stand on her own two feet.

"You'll be placed in the genin corps," their teacher said, handing them their headbands. The weight of the metal felt heavy in her hands, and Hana watched as Izumi carefully tied Haruto's hitai-ai around his neck since he couldn't. Arm cast too bulky to move his fingers. "For now, your sensei will be assigned to you by anyone who's available. Chunin, probably. You'll be restricted to D-ranks, and will have to rely on each other for your own training. If another team has an opening, you'll be reassigned. This isn't permanent."

"We understand, Nomura-sensei." Hana looked up at her, clenching the metal band by her side. It burned to the touch. "I can take it from here. Thank you."

As the three genin left, their teacher was struck with the feeling that maybe they had learned too much under her after all. They were all grown up.

' _At least…some of them._ '

Nomura-san returned to her desk and bowed her head, wondering where it all went wrong.

But maybe now, after all this fear and death, this would be the end of it. There had to be an end to this tragedy and death sometime…. right?

When Konoha emerged from the rubble and the safety of the Hokage monument, no longer sheltered by their shadow, sometime, soon...

' _The sadness will end._ '

They would have to keep moving forward.


	30. Chapter 30 - To Be A Kid Again

**AN:** So I've been taking a break to try and find some joy in other things, to grow and move forward and keep myself preoccupied with happier, less taxing projects. I've got an idea on how I can fall back in love with Project Hana, we'll see how it goes

 **BN:** I have no joy in life, so could quickly jump on this to beta.

BIG thanks to **FreelanceBum for beta'ing. And for those who are stuck around waiting for me to update. With this chapter, we pass the 200K mark, and I wanna welcome everyone who followed, fave'd and reviewed the story so far, you guys keep me going.**

Join my discord for sneak peaks, meta or just to bug me to Update Soon discorddot [gg /DUrCV6W ]

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Chapter 30 - To be a kid again

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They had a bonfire that night, the first day the clans set out on what was left of Konoha.

There was a great big crater where their house used to stand, the trees snapped and broken; bits of debris hanging in telephone wire somehow still standing upright. Wires crisscrossed everywhere and in certain points, pipes burst out of the earth. They shut the water off pretty early on, but there was still flood damage to worry about. Electric currents too invisible to see with the naked eye meant they had to wait until all the power grids were switched off before they could go in and salvage anything.

Hana spent the first night bundled up in a sheet sitting side by side with her clansmen, listening to their voices as they talked around the fire. She was pretty sure parts of her room were being used as kindling.

The only thing she had salvaged was that little planner she had used so much. For school, training…

Blackmail purposes.

She had all of her plans for the future in this little book. Soggy and covered in grit. She didn't know how it survived, but looking at it now…

And looking at the extent of the damage around her…

 _(it's your fault it happened so early. It's your fault, it's your fault.)_

Kiba whined in Hasukī's arms as she got up, pulling at the sheet around them both. She tucked the planner under her arm and wrapped the rest of the sheet around them. Hazumi murmured something in his sleep and pulled the baby a little closer to him. Her ninken stood guard by his feet.

The voices of her mother and other clansmen got louder as she approached the fire—something about what they wanted to do next, what they thought would be the best plan. Between the shouting, the dogs barking and the crackle of the fire as someone put on another log, Hana couldn't hear herself think.

Then again, she didn't really want to right now. Thinking too hard only seemed to make things worse.

The stitches on her head itched. The bandages once wrapped around them were off, and she tugged a little harder on the hat on her head. It was her own damn fault things ended up the way they did, she reminded herself.

"—And _I'm_ saying, accepting help when we need it doesn't make us weak, Gonza. Get your head out of your ass, and look around you!"

Hana stood by the fire, the heat licking her face nowhere near the intensity of _that day_ , but still warm despite the freezing night air. The man, boy, really, added another log, and she watched her mother fight her own battle against the stubbornness of her people.

Their little fire, a light amongst the endless dark. One tiny spark against luminous, hanging moon.

Tsume stood amongst her clan and saw their tears and hushed voices, their anger and hurt rolling within her like thunder. Hana could see it on her face. She wanted to help, to step in.

Helping only seemed to make things worse though.

"They told me not to get involved," huffed the boy, tossing one last log onto the fire. Part of a support beam from someone's house—twisted and bent until it snapped clean off. The young man's hands clenched by his sides as the voices swelled again. "What's the point of talking like this? We should be _doing something_."

"Yeah, I guess." Hana looked down at the scraps of paper in her hands, flipped through the pages where she wrote about her day, little bits of information about friends, of training days and her stories about Hanako Inuyasha.

A little part of her ached as she tossed it into the fire.

Then again she had enough aches and pains to fill a whole new book. What was the point of clinging to things like this anymore? There was enough information in it to destroy Konoha for good.

"That looked important. What was that about?" The kid asked, frowning as the muddy pages of her planner curled in the heat.

Hana shrugged and turned her back to the fire, glancing up at him. "It was nothing, don't worry about it." she paused. "Do I know you from somewhere?"

The teen straightened up, and he ran a hand through his shaggy brown hair. "I, uh—"

"—we can stand on our own two feet!" Gonza's voice boomed over the rest of his arguing clansmen, the light from the fire glinting off his balding head, towering above the rest of the men and women present. He faced Tsume with a frustrated glare as she held her ground, and the two went at it again. "You're too soft!"

"You're too pigheaded!" Tsume shot back.

"And you're a _cow_. All we need are a couple chickens and we could make a whole farm. Your supporters will do _nicely_."

This time it was Tsume who threw the first punch, but Gonza wasn't far behind.

"...that's my dad." The teen sighed, turning back to her. Hana tried not to wince, but it showed on her face anyway. "I… yeah. I guess that makes us mortal enemies, right?"

"Not if we let it," She shrugged, and offered him her hand. "I'm Hana."

"I know." He smirked looking down at her and didn't elaborate. He took her hand and shook it. "I'm Ashitaka, but if you call me that, I _will_ kill you."

Hana continued to shake is hand, a startled, fake smile on her face. "That so?"

"Long story, dead relative, big embarrassing glory tale I'm never going to escape." He dropped her hand and scratched his nose, looking away. "Anyway, just call me Takeru. Or 'that guy', or just don't call me, my dad might get some ideas and I'd rather not have to deal with that when I take your mom's job."

"Wow, right to the chase, huh?" Hana shoved both hands into her coat pockets, and let herself relax. Something about him really did remind her of something the longer they talked. "That's funny. Yeah, I think I do remember you after all."

Takeru tensed. "Yeah…?"

"Mom mentioned you once or twice." She grinned when he seemed to relax. "Whatever, I'll _drop it_. Doesn't seem like a very fun conversation to _carry on_ about."

He narrowed his eyes at her. "Are you done?"

"Maybe?" She pursed her lips but didn't know if she was right about who he was or not. Instead, the two of them turned their attention back to the adults and their fighting.

Two Inuzuka had each other in a hold as Tsume spat at the ground in front of Gonza's feet. The fighting paused, waiting for someone to make another move. "Food, water, blankets—there are more things important than clan pride you idiot!"

"Your mom talks a big for someone who relies on that clan pride whenever she needs something from us," Takeru grunted as his father shot back a cutting remark. He looked down at Hana. "What do you think of all this?"

"Me?" Hana watched her mother square up against a man three times her size, using his full weight and body language to try and intimidate her, and still not back down. "I think my mom is amazing."

"Okay, besides that."Takeru rolled his eyes. "Or... are you too much of a kid to think about politics?"

Hana knew it was a purposeful jab, but here they were, in the middle of a crater, in the middle of a giant paw print, even, where the Kyūbi stood, and he was asking her about politics. What a joke.

Hana sighed and shot him a half-lidded stare. "Hah, yeah, I guess I am. It's a good enough excuse not to get all wrapped up in all that drama, isn't it?"

Something in her chest felt old and hollow and ugly, but she pushed it down and focused on the issue at hand.

"When we grow up, let's not turn into the worst part of our parents, okay?" She stood up on her tiptoes to gently punch Takeru in the arm. He frowned at her "The both of us are too young to think about the big picture. Take it from me—you don't know how good you've got things until there's no going back."

With the glow of the fire at his back, he watched her walk back to her babysitter, her hands tucked into her pockets.

As last remains of her planner went up in flames, the night went on, and the moon hung overhead. Luminous and unchanging.

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* * *

The next day Hana found herself outside the village huffing it through the forest with a backpack on that was twice her size. Through the sweat and muscle strain, she could almost hear her doctor screaming all the way from the hospital, but this was the first mission offered to them and the rest of the team was either a puppy, a Hyūga with a broken arm, or an Uchiha prone to fainting spells.

She was a big enough girl to handle it, no worries. She could handle being stepped on the Kyūbi, this was _nothing_.

Hefting the bag up higher so her lower back muscles could take a break, Hana looked to the rest of her squad. "Team reject, status report!"

Izumi groaned and rubbed her temples. "Do we really have to do this, Hana…?"

She stopped and let them take a break. They were only a half hour away from their drop point anyway, and it wasn't a very high priority mission. They were just delivering some papers to a lookout camp. A chunin in top shape would have made it in ten minutes, but as it was, there were absolutely no chunin around to take the mission, and every other genin team were on missions with their sensei, missions that were probably much safer, and much less _boring_.

Hana was only trying to make things more interesting. "What's the point then?"

Her teammate sighed. "Fine, okay. Izumi reporting—"

"No, use your codename." Hana was going to make this fun if it killed her. Or Izumi. Or both of them together.

"..Are you being serious?" Izumi gave her A Look. "We're supposed to be on a mission right now."

"Eagle one reporting all clear here." Bright pink cast making it a little difficult, Haruto gave them a thumbs up and a reassuring smile. _Good kid._

Hana's master plans to make things Suck Less was going well. "See? Haruto can do it. Come on."

Izumi sighed again. She looked too grown up all of a sudden, and it only made Hana more determined. "I can't even remember mine, can't I just-"

"Izumi what if this was the battlefield, you could be forgetting crucial information." Hana raised an eyebrow at her.

She scoffed. "We're running as the Hokage's mailmen. Less than that—he doesn't even know we exist. Do you really think it's necessary?"

Haruto, the hero of the hour, decided to chime in at the perfect moment. "Are you stalling because you can't remember or because you're ashamed of your codename?"

"I'm not ashamed!" Izumi defended.

Haruto's little smile was absolutely diabolical. "So report in."

Izumi dragged her hand down her face, groaning. For a moment, Hana thought she wouldn't play along.

"Fine... Chunky Monkey…." Izumi hung her head. "...reporting all clear."

"AaaHAHAHA you actually said it!" Hana turned and gave Haruto a high-five. "I told you it'd work!"

Izumi looked scandalized. "You were the one who told me to!?"

Haruto looked a little heartbroken. "Do you want the hundred yen now or later Hana-san?"

"Haruto you traitor? I thought I could trust you!" Izumi punched him in the arm. "I'm not a chunky monkey!"

"N-nobody said you were!" Haruto winced, rubbing the spot where she hit him. "I'm sorry, s-she's very persuasive!"

"More like you're just as bad as she is," Izumi muttered under her breath. She turned to Hana. "So what's your codename huh? If I have to call myself some ridiculous name you made for me, you should get one too!"

"M—me?" Hana struggled to stop laughing. "What w-would you suggest?"

Izumi faltered. "I… uh—gimme a second…"

Hana started walking again, in the direction of where they needed to complete their mission. Her squad close behind. "See, I put a lot of thought into these nicknames. You think I just come up with them on the spot?"

"I said give me a second, geez!" Izumi ground her teeth together as she trailed behind her, eyeing Hana's heavy backpack. "Are you sure you don't need help with that?"

"Hey, I'm fine, kid. You just keep thinking on that codename and don't strain yourself," Hana smirked.

Izumi stepped on her heel. "Hana don't be a bitch. OH—hey!" she jogged up in front of Hana and snapped her fingers. "I got it!"

Hana stopped and looked her dead in the eyes. The camp was maybe five, ten minutes away by now. "Yeah, Izumi? What is it? Hit me with your best shot."

"Are you sure you're ready for it?" Izumi's eyes glinted. She smiled.

Haruto looked between the two of them. He started sweating. "Are we fighting now? Is that what's happening?"

"Izumi," Hana looked up at her, the heavy backpack weighing her down. "Tell me."

"Hana." Izumi's smile grew sharp. She seemed to be enjoying this even more than Hana had been in the beginning. "Are you sure you wont get upset? It could be anything you know. anything."

"Oh, I'm sure." Hana straightened up as much as her bag would let her. Somewhere off in the distance the Haimaru brothers turned around wondering why they stopped again. "I'm just wondering if you have the balls to say it out loud."

"You think I don't have the balls? Oh, _Hana_." The gleam in Izumi's eyes soon turned red, and her Sharingan flickered as she stared her down, an aura of intent heavy in the air. "If you think—"

Hana dropped her bag.

"I don't have the balls to call you—"

"Izumi square up—"

"Commander nosy bitch to your face—"

"SQUARE THE FUCK UP!"

"You really don't—" Izumi had about a second before Hana tackled her to the ground. "—know anything at all! _OOF—_ "

"Guys do we really have to do this now!?" Haruto whined on the sidelines. He dragged their backpack off to the side of the road before either of them could roll onto it, but both girls were fully dedicated to the idea of beating each other up in the middle of nowhere.

"This is fun, isn't it!? This is fun!" Hana pinned Izumi in a headlock and started giving her a noogie. "Laugh, bitch!"

"You're a lunatic!" Izumi elbowed her in the side and slid out of the hold. Soon enough she had Hana tripping over her foot and onto her back. "How do you like me now?!"

"You're one of my best friends, so kind of a lot!" Hana shot back, jamming her hand into Izumi's side. The Uchiha squealed and kneed her in the stomach. Hana choked.

"Oh god, wait are you okay—" Izumi said, a second before Hana took a fistful of dirt and threw it into her face. She coughed and started wiping at her eyes, furious. "You are such a child! Ugh!"

Hana let herself fall back onto butt as she waited for Izumi to retaliate. It never came.

Instead, After Izumi wiped the dirt out of her eyes, her pissed expression melted away into something else, and she went quiet.

"What?" Hana looked up and Haruto looked the same way too. Both of them, looking at her. "Is there something on my face?"

"Um..." Izumi leaned over and snatched something from the ground, handing it to her. "You dropped your hat."

"Oh—! Uh…" So it was the scar they were looking at. The stitches that could clearly be seen through the new hair growing in. All that work to get their minds off the attack went right out the window.

"Here, I'll help you up." Izumi grabbed her hand and hauled her to her feet. She seemed a million miles away when she spoke again. "I'm sorry for calling you names."

"What? No, we were having a fun time," Hana huffed, annoyed by how quickly things seemed to go downhill. "It was just a joke."

"We don't have time for jokes," Izumi murmured, picking up the bag and heading down the path. "We're on a mission."

Hana looked to Haruto for assistance but he seemed just as troubled. She followed after Izumi. "Oh come on! It wasn't that bad!"

"Focus on the mission, Hana! We're supposed to be Shinobi!"

"We're supposed to be kids too!" Hana jumped ahead of her to make her stop. "You don't have to be so serious Izumi, come on."

"No, you _come on_ ," Izumi stood her ground, struggling with the weight of her pack. "I thought you knew better than anyone about growing up. I'm just trying to be more like _you_. What happened to the Hana who shot a raccoon when the time came, or fought against a missing-nin when her life depended on it?"

Hana went silent, her eyes wide and searching. "She tried to be the mature one and her friend died. Is that what you want to hear?"

Izumi winced and dropped the bag. "Hana, I didn't mean—"

"No, it's okay." She bent down and grabbed the backpack before Izumi could try and comfort her. "I'm fine now, really. We can just… Yeah, get back to the mission. Forget I said anything."

"Haruto…?" Izumi looked at him for help, but he had none. She sighed and rubbed her temples. "Great, fantastic. Just what I wanted, ugh."

"The camp is just up ahead," Haruto said, hoping that at least that'd cheer things up. When nobody said anything, he sighed and started walking in direction of the base. "I think I preferred the name-calling after all."

Nobody argued with him.

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Minato's house was still standing when he brought Naruto home for the first time.

Mikoto was there—she kind of had to be, after all. But she didn't need to give him a comforting smile and be so kind. She didn't have to take Naruto from his arms to give Minato a moment. Just so he could collect his thoughts. Just so he could catch his breath.

(Asking Mikoto to be there was more than just a personal favor, it was Strategic. With her Sharingan she could counteract the Masked Man. The only problem was, with her eyes, she could also pick up when Minato was starting to fall apart.)

It had been too long since he finally had a moment to himself, but seeing their empty apartment just as they left it was something he hadn't expected to affect him so much. Kushina was supposed to be there— _deserved_ to be there. It wasn't right.

Despite a couple broken windows, everything was the same. Minato took off his shoes and set them by the door, hesitating for a moment as his eyes lingered on her slippers before he took his own. Would she even need them anymore…? Would she ever come back and use them?

A hard lump settled in Minato's throat. Now was the best time to show some vulnerability, but even all alone in their apartment… _his_ apartment…

The moment never really came. He paced around the place looking at all their dirty dishes, leftover papers and things they left behind. Kushina had forgotten her coat on the couch. An empty cup of coffee left on the table. Some paper taped up on a fan, forgotten for who knows how long.

Minato sighed and took down the wrinkled paper, long since dried. Whatever it was, Kushina hadn't mentioned anything about a spill—which was just like her, trying to make things better without worrying him. For the first time in a while he smiled, just barely, and turned the paper over in his hands. It was probably something of his, actually. Maybe she spilled coffee or ramen on it. He always told her to watch her surroundings when she had—

"What..?" Minato's heart skipped a beat. He turned the paper over as if it was some sort of joke.

There, scrawled across the page, alongside several other drawings of people and a couple dogs, was the sketch of the man who kidnapped his wife. Orange swirling mask staring up at him.

"Minato…?" Mikoto came back inside after she felt his chakra spike. Naruto was playing with a strand of her hair as she held him close. "Is everything okay?"

Minato didn't have the words to explain himself. He simple held up the paper. "Do you…? Is this…?"

"Some sort of trick?" Her skin was pale, he realized, as she turned on her Sharingan. Naruto didn't register the change and continued playing with her hair. Her grip on him tightened when something registered in her brain, and her expression changed.

His mouth was dry, and as he spoke his tongue felt like sandpaper in his mouth. "What is it?"

"I don't know, but—" Mikoto pursed her lips and took the paper from his hands. "I don't understand."

Minato took a step forward, an edge to his voice. "Did he come here? Did he put this drawing here, Mikoto _I need to know_ —"

"No." She said, panicked as she scanned the paper over and over again. She looked back up at him and the tomoe in her eyes were spinning. "He didn't draw this, at least… at least I don't think so…"

"But you know who?" Minato prompted.

He needed this. It was a lead, it was a step in the right direction towards getting Kushina back. Whatever it was, it meant something, and Minato was going to find out what. Someone knew something, and he would do whatever it took to find out what.

"Who was it Mikoto. _Tell me_."

She swallowed hard, and as the words came out they sounded more and more like a strangled confession.

"Hana Inuzuka."

He had his lead.

Minato knew where to look next.

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The camp was crowded and filled with relief workers and builders ferrying in materials to rebuild. Konoha was just barely getting back on its feet, but that meant hiring people from outside the village to fill in for those who didn't survive the attack. Thousands had perished, enough to leave a significant gap in their population and for everyone to have _that day_ placed firmly in their mind forever.

Hana hadn't expected to see so many people coming and going through this camp—she knew what she had been briefed on. As their acting team leader (since her ninken doubled their numbers and followed her orders) she knew where they needed to go and where they had to drop their supplies to end the mission, but locating the guy in the first place was a harder task than she first thought.

For instance, there were a lot of similar-looking middle-aged dudes in builder clothes running around. Finding the master builder was like looking for a needle in a haystack.

Secondly, they ran into some company.

"Hana-san?" Itachi seemed just as surprised to see them as they were. Tenma and Izumi were nearby chatting with their sensei, and Itachi dropped whatever he was doing to meet them through the crowd. "I didn't think you'd be out of the village for a while—are you on a mission…?"

Seeing Itachi really seemed to lift her spirits from before. Hana smirked. "Why are you so surprised? You know I couldn't just let you get all the good ones, right? Just because you have a sensei doesn't mean I'm going to let you get to Chunin before me. _I_ _know what you're thinking_."

Despite the weak threat, Itachi found himself smiling. "It's not a race. And do you know what I'm thinking now?"

"Yes, and it's very rude," Hana said, scoffing at him. "I thought your momma raised you better than that."

He rolled his eyes and shook his head. "I shouldn't have said that—I've given you too much power."

"And now you're thinking of—OH? Izumi, you'll never believe this—"

The Uchiha in question strolled up to Hana's side and gave Itachi a lukewarm greeting. "Hey."

"Hey," Itachi answered, a little confused by her tone. "Is something the matter?"

"Nope," she replied, popping the p-sound at the end. When Hana looked at her she sighed and elaborated. "Just a conversation on the road, it's nothing. What are you doing here?"

"Team two are coming back from a gathering mission," their sensei piped up, coming to stand behind Itachi. He looked rather proudly down at the Uchiha and patted his shoulder. "Itachi-san was rather good at picking out the right herbs today, he has quite a good eye for detail."

"Yeah, he does, doesn't he," Izumi muttered, watching him from under half-lidded eyes. Hana swallowed nervously and traded a glace with Haruto, who also seemed to pick up on it.

Itachi seemed oblivious, however. Maybe even on purpose…? "Shinko-san and Tenma-san helped out a lot too. I don't think I could've finished the mission without them."

"Very true! Teamwork is the most important out in the field." His sensei smiled and looked at Hana's team, then out in the crowd. "You three are from the academy as well, right? Don't tell me your sensei has already skipped out on you."

Itachi coughed awkwardly into his hand.

Izumi made a swift turn on her heel and walked towards Shinko's direction.

Haruto and Hana looked at each other again. "We don't have one," Haruto explained.

"Genin corps," Hana filled in further. She gestured to her ninken and then at Haruto's broken arm. "You know how it is—we make do with that advantages we have."

"Ah! I see… I'm sorry for any misunderstandings…." The young jounin seemed genuinely apologetic, if a bit of an idiot, so Hana cut him some slack and introduced them all to change the topic. He seemed pretty thankful. "My name's Yūki Minazuki, it's nice to meet a friend of Itachi's finally. I was starting to think nobody liked him!"

Itachi closed his eyes. "Sensei please…"

 _What a riot._ Hana tried not to laugh out loud. " _Dude_ , you have no idea."

"You'll have to tell me all about your academy days when we have the time," Minazuki-sensei laughed, patting Itachi on the shoulder just a little too hard. He waved a storage scroll in his hand and jerked his head towards some medics clustered underneath a tent. "I've got to go drop this off, and then it's right back to Konoha. Have fun while I'm gone, but not too much fun, you hear me?"

They watched him struggle his way through the crowd, laughing at his own joke that nobody really appreciated.

"He… doesn't like me very much." Itachi said, in a very pained voice.

"He's kind of a dick, I wouldn't worry if he likes you or not," Hana replied, dropping her heavy backpack to her feet. Her shoulders were sore from carrying it the whole way, and at least for now she could take a break and figure out where they had to go next. "Hey, do you know where some master builder dude is? I have some blueprints with his name on them."

"Oh, actually—" Itachi glanced towards where his sensei disappeared, before making up his mind. "I do, I could show you if you want?"

"Perfect! Lemme get Izumi…"

Shinko and Tenma stayed behind to wait for their teacher so they could regroup, and Itachi led the way, politely weaving through the crowd of builders and civilians towards a large tent beside a row of cut logs. By the time Hana spotted the guy she was looking for, it should've been obvious. She opened the door halfway, but before she turned around to thank Itachi for showing her the way.

Some spindly dude twice her height pushed Itachi out of the way and neared the door before she could say anything, and she glared at the guy for being such a dick. "Dude, watch where you're going!"

The guy looked up at her through his tangled hair, and it was then she notices how much he was sweating. It wasn't even that hot out. His voice was high and strained, and he made another attempt for the door."S-sorry."

"Dude are you okay?" Izumi gave the man a critical eye, and he seemed to get even more tense with so many people staring at him.

"C—can I just…." His eyes jumped from face to face, and then back on the door as if it was the most important thing in the world. His hands twitched by his side, and his voice grew aggravated. "The door. _Let me in_."

"Um, okay." Hana let it swing open, and she wrinkled her nose as he grew closer. In the moment his arm brushed against her own, time seemed to slow, and her eyes widened and zeroed in on the man's throat—his pulse, his chakra going haywire and his heart giving off warning signals. Something was wrong, something was so wrong, Hana didn't know what, until it hit her.

To her right, her ninken yipped in confirmation, and she grabbed the man's hand.

Izumi took a step closer. "Hana, what are you doing?"

"Bomb—bomb this guy's got a bomb!"

In an instant, it was like she spoke the magic words, and all eyes in the area, inside and outside, landed on her and the mystery guy, frozen in their spot and staring right at each other.

The man was sweating buckets now, but something on his face had changed, and he had gone quiet. If she had been trained for this kind of thing she would have noticed resignation on his face. Instead, all she saw was the rolls of explosive paper stuffed under his shirt.

His chakra spun out of control—a trigger. This was it. _This was it—_

Where were the guards? Chunin? Where was Itachi's sensei or the other Jounin? Surely someone had to be there, right—?

If they had their own teacher things would have went differently. If they hadn't been in the genin corps, taken this job, noticed that it could've been higher risk, then maybe they wouldn't have been put in such danger. Izumi, Itachi and Haruto wouldn't have been put in the direct path of the blast. The first casualties. The bomber's intention was to harm the civilians around, he was going into the master builder's tent, there had to be some sort of plot going on, far beyond what they signed up for and beyond what they could hand as genin alone. They shouldn't even had been graduated so early anyway.

As it was, Hana was put into an impossible situation, with only a few options.

She chose the one with the least loss of life.

So when she pumped chakra into her nails—forgetting her kunai completely, no time to think, no time to rely on anything other than pure instinct—she plunged her hand into his neck and crushed his windpipe.

The croak and groan that escaped the man—teen, he was a teenager—was cut off by the blood that spilled past his lips, thick and warm. It spilled over her hand and she sunk her nails in deeper, his chakra spluttering and going haywire, but for all the wrong reasons this time.

She could hear yelling behind her but her eyes stayed dead fixed on the teenagers face. Black on his bright blue.

The smell of his sweet and hers intertwined with the blood and powder from the explosives that still hadn't detonated, and he slipped to the floor, his knees buckling under him. Both hands rushed up to try and pry her nails out from under his neck but she squeezed and he choked again, weaker until she couldn't hold his weight anymore and he fell, face first, onto the ground.

She let go and looked down at the life she had just taken.

"...Hana?" Itachi's voice was a million miles away, and when she finally ripped her eyes away from the growing pool of blood in front of her, the look on his face was enough to haunt her even more than the look on the man she just killed.

The teenager. The child. She had just killed someone's child.

He couldn't have been older than sixteen.

"He… he uh..."

Her own throat felt tight and she reached a hand up to tough it, only for her own claws to scratch her skin. She jumped, and looked down at her hands, slick with blood and dripping into her shirt. She nicked an artery on the guy. She was practically covered in his blood.

Hana sniffled and turned her wide eyes towards the people gathered around her. "He was going… to. He was going to—the powder—I didn't have a—"

"Okay, the show's over, everyone clear out," a voice said over the murmur of the crowd.

Hana looked hopefully up at the face of Itachi's sensei, but her heart fell when he was trailed by another five Jounin, each with equally grim expressions. When he approached, they took note of the body and two broke line to start cleanup, but the rest made a small circle around her, impassive and foreboding.

"I—I didn't mean to!" Hana sobbed, her hands still shaking as the weight of her decision finally set in. "Oh god, I—I killed him, didn't I? I'm sorry—I'm so sorry!"

"That's not what we're here for," one of the jounin said, and in her shock, she just barely made out the heavily scarred face of Ibiki Morino through her tears. He didn't even seem to note her crying. "You're under arrest."

Hana choked, and she covered her mouth with her hand, not even registering the blood on her face anymore.

Somewhere nearby, she heard, rather than saw her team and Itachi struggle to go to her side. Someone kept them back.

"What?! What do you mean?!" Izumi hissed.

Itachi called out her name, but she didn't turn her head. "What's going on?!"

"Under the order of the Fourth Hokage, Minato Namikaze, Hana Inuzuka is to be relinquished to us and to be brought to Torture and Investigation immediately, under no circumstances will this order be intervened, as it is of the highest level of priority, and will be carried out as such."

Ibiki paused and looked around as if to make sure he didn't need to repeat himself. The tent had gone eerily silent, and those people who remained made no move to stop what was happening.

He nodded, and his two associates took both of Hana's arms. He turned to Itachi's sensei and nodded to him. "Inuzuka's team will be relinquished to you, as will her ninken, and will be expected back in the village as soon as possible. Her parent and guardian will be notified. That is all."

And in a single puff of smoke, in a moment, Hana's eyes flickered over to her friends, wide and fearful, still brimming with guilty tears—

And then she was gone.

Itachi, Izumi, and Haruto stood in the spot she once was and looked at each other.

"What are we going to do?" Izumi said aloud.

"I don't know," Itachi murmured, for once, completely out of ideas. "I don't know what just happened."

The pool of blood by their feet spread out and soaked into the floor. They couldn't do anything about it.


	31. Chapter 31 - To Be Guilty

**AN:** sorry for the cliffhanger. Thankfully I kept writing so you won't have to deal with a 4-month hiatus.

BIG thanks to MonsterCatMusicGirl and Bobvosh for editing! I don't know where i'd be without you guys. Also, if you ever want another SI/OC fic to read, go check out Cat's fic, Moonflower :D

 **Word count: 5,908**

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 **Chapter 31 - To Be Guilty**

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Itachi didn't know where else to turn—he didn't have a lot of options. He found his mother at the Hokage's house and he barely even felt bad for interrupting her when she was busy taking care of the Hokage's son. For all intents and purposes, it should have been _Sasuke_ she was looking after, but he was old enough to understand that this was her duty somehow, both as Kushina-sama's friend and to the Yondaime.

(When a bitter curl of resentment bubbled up, seeing her carry the baby in her arms, he smothered it, and went straight to the matter at hand.)

"Hana's been _arrested_."

The guilt in her voice was almost palpable, and she gestured for him to come inside. "Let me explain…"

"You knew about this?" Itachi was at a loss for words. How could this have happened? Why now? _After_ —

 _After she had just—_

 _He was a teenager, but the look on his face—_

 _Her nails sinking into the soft flesh of his neck…_ He couldn't erase that from his mind. It was still fresh, an hour's sprint from the relief camp. What was going on?

"They're just trying to get the full story," Mikoto said, easing the Yondaime's son off her shoulder and into a nearby crib. After the baby left her arms, she turned to her son, her shoulders tight with worry. "They won't hurt her."

"Are you sure?" Itachi urged, worried despite her reassurances. "You didn't see her face when they took her."

"There's a lot I can't tell you, it's confidential." she winced when he narrowed his eyes at her. "I'm sorry."

Itachi clenched and unclenched his hands. If he wanted answers, he wasn't going to get them all here. But this was about as close as he could get to the truth as they would let him. If he wanted answers, he'd have to wait until he was at a higher security level. Chunin, jounin, etc.

He _just_ wanted to know if his friend would be okay.

Itachi sighed. "So what _can you tell me_?"

"They're just going to interview her."

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* * *

She knew this day had been coming, but she didn't think she'd be covered in blood so soon.

Hana's back hit the interrogation chair harder than she meant to, and the legs scraped along the ground with an ugly rattle. Her hands weren't in cuffs, but she was alone in a boxed room, with nothing but herself and a mirror to keep herself company.

Staring at her reflection was enough to send her off the edge. Her nails were still sharp and lethal, and the bottom half of her face was dripping with—she looked like some sort of animal. Like she had ripped the guy's throat out with her teeth. Her eyes were bloodshot from crying and she could hardly suck in a decent breath. Hana was ready to roll over and die on the spot.

When a medic came in and gave her a spare change of clothes, she nearly burst into tears again. Kindness was not something she was expecting, but when the young woman took her gnarled hands into her own, and pressed a soft glowing palm down, the aching in Hana's fingertips finally stopped, and her nails retracted. She didn't even know how to to do that.

They gave her wet wipes for her face and cleaned off her hands. They didn't do any scrapings, or asked who the guy was—it was like he didn't even matter, like they expected it to happen in the first place, or that they didn't care at all what she did. And if that was the case, her being there? Meant worse things than simple murder. She had dreamed about this day for years now.

She slipped the extra clothes on over her bloody t-shirt and pants and took them off underneath. Even though the medic told her nobody was watching her change through the one-way mirror, it didn't feel safe enough anyway. She was hyper aware of her every action like she was being watched from every angle.

She threw her bloody clothes in a bundle in the corner for someone to pick up. Her hat too. The new clothes they picked out were hers—salvaged from her house or something, or very close to it. She didn't know how they knew her size, but she was…. grateful? In a way. Despite the constant terror and nausea at what she had done (and what they were probably going to do), being a little less reminded of the fact that she was a murderer made her feel more… at peace.

And she was a murder, now. If not before by her own actions, by her intervention, and by being ' _a friend'_ , than certainly she was _now._

With a hollow feeling in her stomach, Hana realized this wasn't even the worst day of her life by far. Sure, it was bad, but… It could get worse. It could always get _worse_. This was either a sign that it wouldn't, or the start of something very, very bad.

Another woman came into the room and sat across from her, with a thin file tucked under her arm. She was pretty, Hana noticed, with delicate blonde hair and clear blue eyes. Yamanaka, then. At least they were cutting right to the chase.

 _They say the Yamanaka can fish out thoughts and memories through a single glance. That they don't even need a hand sign._

Hana couldn't help herself. She looked into the woman's eyes—

 _And saw amber staring back at her, and ginger hair. A calculating look, and a smile that said he knew more than he was letting on._

Hana shuddered and covered her face with her hands. Her whole body shook. "I-I'm sorry, I'm _sorry_ —I didn't mean it, _I'm so sorry_ …"

"It's okay, Hana-san, you're not here as an enemy," the woman said, concern laced deeply in her voice. It had to be some sort of plot to get her to trust the woman more willingly, but Hana was so desperate after everything she had been through, she fell for it. "It's okay, you're not in trouble."

"I—I'm not… in trouble?" Hana seemed to sink further into her chair, confusion etching itself onto her face amongst the grief and despair. "J—just tell me what you need from me. I… don't understand…"

"There's something of great importance that's been linked to you in an undergoing investigation." The Yamanaka smiled and purposely toned down her word choice. She was supposed to speaking to a seven year old girl, after all. "I just need to know what you know about this drawing. Okay?"

Hana dumbly nodded her head. "Okay."

The woman opened the file.

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Minato watched the exchange from the one-way glass. The girl he had met months ago was nothing like the child being interrogated now. She was skin and bones—pale even though she was sweating through her new change of clothes. He could could see how terrified she was even without feeling it in the air. It was like the cry of cornered animal: desperate. The kind that drove prey to gnaw off their own legs.

It wasn't paternal instinct that made him want to call off the interrogation, but pity. He let it go on for as long as it had since this was some undeniable lead towards his wife's kidnapper, but how could he call himself a leader of the people, if he treated one of their own—so vulnerable, and close to breaking—so poorly?

They could obviously let her rest up and gather her bearings after such a traumatic incident. Ibiki had given him a full report. First mission kill, with some respectable and heroic actions. In any other situation, the kid should have been treated like a hero.

It just so happened that the guy she took down was well known to the builders, even if he did try to kill them all. That was how Iwa operated—make someone else do their dirty work. Jiraiya had intercepted a dozen of these in the past week alone. It was only about time one of them slipped through the cracks.

Minato was a moment away from calling the whole thing off when the door behind him—leading to the rest of T&I—flew off its hinges.

About a dozen ANBU and agents swarmed around him and the intruder, but Tsume Inuzuka was completely unphased. Behind her, Gonza Inuzuka looked like a deadly shadow. He hadn't actually expected the former clan leader to back her up like this.

Tsume spoke in an open, clear voice, but her eyes here narrowed into slits. The room grew cold. "You had absolutely _no right._ "

Minato was not prepared to start a civil war before noon. He could tell a losing battle when he saw one. "Tsume-sama, please let me explain."

"We fight and die for you, lose our loved ones, and you turn around and put one of our youngest _in shackles?_ " Gonza's voice boomed, startling Hana and the agent, even in their soundproofed room. "Have you _no shame?_ "

Minato squared his shoulders. "I assure you, I understand and deeply appreciate your loyalty and sacrifice. _I've lost people too_. It's the village's security at stake here."

He ran a hand through his hair and waved down the guards who were one word away from cutting both Inuzuka down. ANBU Hound and his squad hesitated, but bled away into the nearby surroundings, ready to strike if provoked.

Minato bowed his head. "You have my deepest apologies. This should have been… handled better. The timing on our behalf was beyond poor, but Ibiki and his squad couldn't have expected what went down. They reacted as they did, and she's here now. A medic has seen her, and…."

Tsume didn't even seem convinced of his efforts and sauntered up to the one-way glass. She looked like she was ready to punch a hole through it. Actually, by the way she raised her hand, she seemed about to do exactly that.

"There's—" Minato reached out to stop her before she really did go through with it. "—something you should know. A drawing she did; that's the cause of all this."

Minato had a copy of the image on hand. As did about three hundred other intelligence agents now, pinning Hana somehow to the mystery that was the Masked Man. He handed the picture to Tsume, who scoffed.

"This is it? A drawing. You're traumatizing my daughter for a drawing." She raised her fist again.

"Let me see that—"

Gonza tore the picture out of her hands and held it up above her head when she tried to snatch it back. Tsume punched him in the arm but he took it, much more interested in what Minato was trying to show them.

He eyed the Hokage. "What does the girl have to do with the attack?"

"Absolutely _nothing_ ," Tsume hissed, rounding on both men. "You should know better than to pick on harmless kids—Hana has done _nothing wrong_."

"Look at the picture, Tsume. Tell us this isn't hers." Gonza handed her back the paper, all but forcing it into her hands. "You know better than everyone else that your girl likes to draw."

"That doesn't make her an _enemy!"_ she seethed, taking the sheet in both hands before tearing it apart. She let two pieces fall to the floor, a bitter snarl on her face. They had about another five copies of that picture nearby anyway. "She's _my daughter;_ how could you ask me to go along with this? To even think that a moment of her, behind that glass, is okay? What if it was _your son_ in there?"

Gonza huffed. "Ashitaka can't draw if his life depended on it, but I _get it_. You still wanna break her out?"

Minato held up both hands. The best thing he could do right now was to avoid more conflict. He went for the placating approach.

"We haven't questioned her yet, she's only been here for a couple minutes so far—she doesn't even know why she's here in the first place."

"You think that makes this better somehow?" Tsume brushed past him towards the interrogation room door. She could hear voices on the other side as she turned the knob, but she didn't care. The ANBU moving to stop her wasn't fast enough.

When the door swung open, and her daughter finally caught sight of her, she could see the relief clear on Hana's face. Unfortunately, it was just a moment after Hana said something she couldn't take back.

"I did it. That picture belongs to me."

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Home was a tent in the woods with paper thin walls and eyes tracking her every move.

Hana wasn't a fool. She knew she was being watched—she didn't know by how many, or what kind of orders they were under, but she knew they weren't just going to let her walk away. They were probably recording everything she did, everything she looked at, every small movement or word spoken, and sending it right back to Ibiki and his cold, impassive execution squad.

Even when she was free to leave, she was a prisoner.

This wasn't what she wanted at all.

Hana buried her face in her pillow and let her lungs burn from a lack of oxygen. It had to be a fluke that let her get caught— _of course_. Not when she had been so, so careful with that letter, but when she had thought she had been safe, and trusted someone with a part of her that never should have seen the light of day. Her art. It was just another way to leak information—she knew, and she was _so stupid as to trust_ —

God, and it had been Obito's mask too. It wasn't even a detailed picture and they had figured it out. They had dragged her to T&I without a second of hesitation, all over a doodle in yellow pencil crayon. A pinwheel pattern with a doughnut hole in the center, and they fucking nailed her to a post in a second flat.

How long would it take before they realized the letter was her work as well? How long before they broke out the thumbscrews and found out her dirty little secret?

She confessed to drawing it because they had her. Acting like she had nothing to hide and being helpful was what they wanted, right? So she gave it to them. She didn't tell them how or why she drew the picture. Just that she had done it.

But the feeling of utter defeat followed her home, and settled in her chest like a disease, rotting her from the inside out. She felt like she was being eaten alive. She couldn't even handle breakfast the next day.

She was told some of her friends came to visit, but she didn't have the heart to talk to them right now. She still couldn't erase that image of Itachi's face from her mind after she— after she… killed that guy. Did he have a name? She didn't know. Did he have a family? Did they _miss him_?

She killed someone yesterday and unbelievably it wasn't the number one thing on her mind. What kind of monster was she? All Hana could think about was getting away with her little plan. Just so she could breathe easy again. Well, fat fucking chance. She had drawn a target onto her back in yellow fucking pencil crayon, and no matter what Crayola advertised they were _never fully goddamn erasable_.

If she came out and spilled her guts maybe they'd let her live? Could they? Would life even be worth living if she gave Konoha all her secrets and trusted them to keep their noses out of the world's business?

Was she willing to make an even bigger gamble with her life, and everyone's lives, if she told them everything?

No. The answer was no. She wasn't willing to take this much of a risk. They could rip the truth from her empty, dying mind, but her mouth would stay clamped shut when it came to everything other than that picture, and that drawing, from that interrogation room.

Her entire plan—life—existence, even—hinged on her mother being overprotective, and the best fucking parent in the entire goddamn world.

Hana was so going overboard for Mother's Day next year.

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The interrogation room was the same, but this time Tsume sat next to her in her own chair. Staring down the man in front of her with steely eyes.

It was a Nara, this time, which didn't do anything for Hana's nerves, but this time she had at least a couple days to hate herself and come to terms with her actions (she hadn't). She could prepare. She had a plan of action, and knew the right lines to say just to move things in her favor. At this point, she could probably say them in her sleep, which was good because she was still half-convinced they were going to jump into her brain and pull it apart like cotton candy. Tsume's hand on her arm was the only thing keeping her from losing her marbles.

"So, about the picture," the Nara prompted gently.

They were still going for the soft approach, but maybe felt a little more forced to do it since Tsume was there, and civil war really wasn't a thing Konoha needed right now.

(It still jarred her how quickly the Inuzuka were willing to come to her defence. Even _Gonza_ , who was supposed to be everything that fought against her mother, had been supportive. It was a little surreal to see just how loyal her family could be. She just never really… expected to be supported so strongly before. In anything, actually.)

"I saw it being sold on some wagon. There was a man—he was trying to get tourists to come buy them. That mask was different than all the others, so I drew it. I think it was handmade."

The Nara leaned forward in his chair and watched her carefully. She could almost hear the sound of intelligence agents taking notes in the next room over. "What did the man look like?"

"Dark hair, pale skin—I didn't really look at him too long, he was pretty average. Plus I didn't have any money at the time and he was trying to get people to look at his wares." Hana was lying through her _teeth_. She wondered if the three years of drama class in her past life even made a fucking difference. "I like drawing from life, and the mask had a lot of cool shapes to it. What did I do wrong?"

"It's none of your concern," the Nara smiled, brushing off her question and ignoring the way Tsume glared at him. He kept his questions pointed and precise. He was a lot better at his job than Hana was good at lying. "Where did you come across this man?"

"It was downtown in the shopping district—ah…um..." Hana passed, both for effect and so she could try to come up with as many details as possible because holy shit she was really trying to outsmart a Nara, she was so beyond _screwed_.

"It's okay, take your time." He so obviously knew she was lying. The guy was middle aged, he looked like had had seen his fair share of interrogations before. Probably with a whole lot more guilty looking people—and Hana was _so_ guilty.

She was relying on a couple things in this interrogation to give her the upper hand, in a manner of speaking, because she was at a pretty massive disadvantage anyway. Her mother was an obvious asset—she had her age, and nobody really expected her to be a lot more aware of what was going on than any other seven year old. They were going easy on her, which she appreciated, because the stress of slipping up was unbearable, and then there was the guilt of taking someone's life she had to deal with and was written all over her face.

There were a lot of things Hana couldn't take back anymore. She hoped at least with all these variables the Nara in front of her wouldn't go straight to the ' _she's a spy!_ ' like… Fu had, or come to the conclusion that Hana knew more about Obito than she was letting on.

Looking back, the number of times she had slipped up was too much to bear. With her track record, someone was going to find out something eventually, and Hana could only do so much before the truth came out, and someone suspected her something.

Her face had been pinned to this investigation no matter what she did. She couldn't take that back, so in some way, she had to play the part of the helpful eye-witness. At least for as long as she could.

"So, um…"

Hana's hands were in her lap, balled up in the fabric of her sweater. Her jacket was still covered in blood, since they didn't have any working washing machines, so she borrowed one from Shinko. The white fabric made her skin look even more shallow; the bags under her eyes purple and sunken. She practically sank into her chair, weak and vulnerable. Everything about her screamed ' _don't push me! I could break at any moment!'_

It was a tailor-made manipulation tactic. Her interrogator probably already knew what sort of strategy he needed to get what he wanted, but that would make him an _asshole_. And then Hana had Tsume. It was a good setup.

"So I can try to draw the guy, if you want?" That sounded helpful, and it'd lead the suspicion off of her and onto someone else. She could give them a false lead and shake them off her trail.

He looked hopeful. "That'd be a great help to us, Hana-san."

The Yamanaka from before came through the door a moment later and brought of a pad of paper and a pencil. She touched Hana's arm in an affectionate manner, maybe to make Hana feel more comfortable, maybe because she looked like she was about to combust, but the small action only made her more paranoid the woman planted something on her, or did some sort of genjutsu, and was now inside her _head_ —

So she reached over and squeezed her mom's hand for support, and hoped that got the message across.

 _Please help me, I have no idea what I'm doing. I'm scared of these people._

"We can stop and leave anytime you want." Tsume wrapped an arm around her shoulders, and the feeling of security and wellbeing that fell over her was almost instantaneous.

"There's a genjutsu—" The Nara began to say.

"Out of the question," Tsume shot back.

"—that clears the mind, helping agents on the field record things they might not be able to on their own," he continued, ignoring the way Tsume glared at him. "With your consent, it could help us pin down more details than memory alone."

"If you're saying my daughter isn't capable of drawing well enough, I have news for you—"

"Her skills aren't in question, Inuzuka-sama." The guy was obviously between a rock and a hard place, trying to get to Hana through her mother. Then again, Hana was nowhere near willing to throw him a bone. This was exactly what she wanted.

"What... sort of genjutsu is it…?" That was what stressed her out the most. If she didn't know what they were doing to their head, then she might not know if she was spilling information or not.

"I can cancel it the second you want out," Tsume said, her arm a strong pillar of reassurance. She could trust her mother with her life, she could trust her with this.

Her interrogator only had a few options. He went for the most helpful one. "It's a relatively low level technique. I can show you the hand signs if you'd like to cast it yourself."

Oh _absolutely._ Hana watched him perform the seals and copied them. He was right; it was pretty easy to perform—her hands weren't nearly as fast to replicate them as he was, but he was a jounin, so it made sense.

The effect was subtle, calming. Just how it was described. Hana could see the benefits of using this on the battlefield. It was the same sort of feeling she got after drawing for hours—complete focus, balance, and serenity.

There was no doubt Hana could probably draw anything she wanted. Problem was, the genjutsu changed her body language, and she couldn't rely on her stellar acting skills to carry the conversation like she wanted anymore. Her expression was much more _zen_ , and she probably couldn't burst into tears at a moment notice even if she tried.

It was just Hana, a pencil and a piece of paper. She could do this.

"The man from before—the one selling the masks. What sort of face shape did he have?"

There was an art to being a sketch artist. There was more to just penciling in the lines and giving a vague approximation of what they looked like. The intent was to create something as close to life as possible. To create an illusion of a face on paper. With a genjutsu, it should have been easy. Hana could have drawn just about anyone.

The face she started drawing wasn't the one she should have picked. She should have thought of a random face in a crowd—chosen a collection of random features and mixed them all together. She could have let herself be a dead end, let the Hokage and her interrogator and Ibiki goddamn Morino forget about her because that was safe. It was a strategic move. It would drive people off her trail, so they didn't link other things to her and incriminate her further.

She could have change the narrative so the masked man simply found the mask off a local vender, and attacked. End of story. Her involvement would be over. Her name cleared of suspicion.

But this was a world where people killed each other by the hundreds, and where men like Madara and Obito Uchiha could run around for years and barely face any repercussion.

The boy she had killed had friends and family, people who missed him. There was always going to be a place missing where he was, and an emptiness that could not be filled. Where was the justice in the thousands of lives taken during the attack, or in the death of her friend? Where would justice come into play for Itachi's future?

It wouldn't. Hana knew from personal experience that she couldn't save them all.

But… she was given an opportunity to do something.

The face she drew was of a man in his late twenties, with a black crown of hair and dark, half-lidded eyes.

She drew one half of his face first—then mirrored his features on the other side. She could feel the eyes of her interrogator and her mother on the back of her head as she sketched, and when she got to the other eye, she paused. Tapped her pencil three times, and then copied the other one.

There was a strategy in this. She could trust in them to over analyze what she was doing, to see significance in her actions. She also knew that the man she had just drawn didn't exist yet, and probably wouldn't ever. Not completely.

The style in which she drew him and the way she remembered his face to look like were so wildly different from real life, they'd have to hold the picture up to his real-life face to even know who it referred to. But it was as close as she was willing to get. They wouldn't be able to find him anytime soon. Which gave her time to plot out her next move, to plan, and to prepare for what was coming next.

Hana slid the paper over to her interrogator, and her mother canceled the genjutsu.

 _Obito Uchiha, eat your goddamn heart out._

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Minato didn't recognize the face on the sheet of paper in front of him, but had no doubt that he would eventually. As a show of good faith, T&I had begun working side by side with the Uchiha police force—what few investigators they could spare and were willing to help, that is.

Dissent and distrust after the attack was still at an all-time high. The Uchiha were rightfully upset for all the accusations thrown their way, and Minato was working on his own time to try and soothe tensions, especially since he had locked the clan head's wife into a personal obligation to him.

Fugaku was not a happy man when they met that night, but then again, neither was his son, when Minato sat down at their table.

Itachi was calm and quiet as he picked up his bowl and took it to the kitchen, but Minato could feel the boy's eyes on him as he went to his room. He knew Itachi had been there when Hana had been arrested. It was… a minor consequence. Unfortunate, but hopefully not permanent.

Fugaku though, when he sat down to do business, looked like he needed a drink. Something strong. And Minato knew him as a man who rarely ever drank.

"You're asking for resources we don't have," Fugaku began, folding his hands in front of him as if they were at a diplomatic meeting. Minato wanted to talk in the comfort of Fugaku's house so they could avoid that happening.

"I'm only asking for what you can spare." Minato sighed, and leaned back in his chair. He wanted to keep this casual. "You've already been filled in by Mikoto—"

"—Yes, _my wife_ does seem to be in on a lot of things, isn't she?" Oh, he looked upset. Maybe taking the conversation to Fugaku's house was a bad idea. It made things all the more personal.

"Mikoto is free to come and go whenever she needs to, but you need to understand her duty as a godmother..." Minato cut himself off before he said something he'd regret. This was not how he wanted things to go—Mikoto was something that he knew would only fan the flames. Fugaku haven't approved when he heard about her assignment.

Maybe he should try to smooth things over. Start again.

"I apologize if there's been any misunderstandings—"

"No, don't worry about it." Fugaku let out a breath through his nose. His features were rigid and set, and from what Minato could pick up, he didn't appreciate the attempt at diplomacy. There used to be a time when they could just talk clearly, without any political-speak or repercussion.

At least in wartimes, they knew who the enemy was.

Okay, then, Minato would just get right to the point. "I'm just trying to find the man who took my wife. If you can help me find the person who started this whole mess, you know I'll be grateful. The future of the village depends on it. "

"The future of the village depends on tracking down the man who took _your wife_ , when the one who stole _mine_ , is sitting right in front of me."

Okay, Minato deserved that. Fugaku was allowed to be upset.

They didn't talk about the fact that members of the intelligence division suspected the Uchiha in the attack. And they didn't talk about the fact that Mikoto was missing time with Sasuke so she could comply with Minato's request. They didn't talk about the third pair of eyes watching them, or the small seed of distrust between them now, only growing stronger.

It really did feel like Minato was up against the world. He didn't realise how heavy the hat was until he took it off, and still felt the weight of the world on his shoulders. How Hiruzen even managed was beyond him, but he was starting to understand why the man had so few personal friends. Everything he did was called into question.

Fugaku sighed, and he stared down at the paper in front of him. But he didn't turn on his Sharingan. "I'll keep an eye out for him."

That… felt like a dismissal. Minato knew when he wasn't wanted, but he hadn't realized just how much of their relationship had deteriorated since the attack. Since—

Well, they had never been exceptionally close, but something about this felt very final. He stood, and after a few brief words, he left. He wasn't quite sure if meant something significant, but when the door shut behind him, he felt like something had just ended between the two of them.

He just hoped whatever it was wouldn't get between him and the truth.

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* * *

"Father?" Itachi watched Fugaku rise from his chair and stalk towards the door. The Hokage had left only moment earlier, and twilight had fallen on Konoha. Sasuke had already been put to bed by his caretaker. "Where are you going?"

"Out." He slipped on his sandals, a paper in his hands. Itachi made out the bottom half of a face, and just barely recognized the style.

 _What did Hana have to do with any of this?_

"I'm meeting with some relatives," Fugaku explained finally, as he opened the door. He spared Itachi a glance behind him. "Watch over the house while I'm gone. I'll be back later tonight."

He shut the door behind him with a click, and Itachi was alone.

There was something going on that he wasn't saying, Itachi wasn't a fool. He didn't know what it was, but his mother was involved. His father was involved now too—and Hana? It didn't add up. He wanted to know the full story.

Maybe if he asked Shisui? No—he probably wasn't involved… but by being kept out of the loop, Itachi felt completely useless. There was no point in staying on the sidelines if he could do something, but he didn't know what yet.

Maybe tomorrow he'd visit Hana—try and get the full story from her.

If he couldn't trust his friends when his family and his Hokage were keeping things from him, who else could he trust in?

* * *

ᛜ


End file.
